Survey: Youth Market Not Sold on Mobile Payments, After All

The youth market may not be the slam dunk for mobile payments that payment processors, card issuers, and merchant acquirers have thought it would be. According to survey results released this week, some 62% of persons aged 16 to 43?the so-called Gen X and Gen Y?say that using cell phones as a payment device is “unnecessary.” Meanwhile, a significant segment of these respondents?38%–say they don't use handsets frequently enough to make mobile payments worthwhile. These results were gathered in a survey of some 4,000 individuals conducted by Market Platform Dynamics, a Cambridge, Mass., management-consulting firm. The survey, which covered a variety of payment topics, also reveals a strong concern in this age group regarding security and contactless-payment technology, which is starting to gain more widespread acceptance in the U.S. More than 60% of these Gen X and Gen Y respondents, however, said they would not pay with a contactless device, fearing lack of security. At the same time, only 4% said they had such concerns about existing payment devices. The survey, called the MPD Next Generation Payment and Technology Study, is conducted quarterly among a sample of 4,000 persons living in the U.S. aged 16 to 43. In addition to answering queries about payments and technology preferences, respondents maintain a diary for one week in which they log all transactions.