Mobile Payments Up, Cash Payments Down

Plenty of people are still paying for things with cash, but fewer of them are doing so this year than last year. Meanwhile, mobile payments are steadily becoming more popular.

That’s according to data from a recent Accenture report that looked at payment methods across the country. Last year’s survey showed that 67% of respondents reported paying for something with cash on a weekly basis; this year that number dropped to 60%. And while mobile payment actual use numbers remained the same at 19%, more people were aware of the option to use mobile payments: 56% this year versus 52% last year.

The Accenture 2016 North America Consumer Digital Payments Study was based on responses from more than 4,000 smartphone users across the US and Canada. Overall, the survey found that cash and credit or debit cards are still the preferred way for folks to pay for purchases, rather than using their smartphones for digital or mobile payments.

“We are seeing a gradual increase in consumer awareness of mobile phone payments options; however, adoption has remained flat over the past few years,” said Accenture Payments managing director Robert Flynn. “Consumers are content to use cash and plastic for their everyday transactions, and while the use of cash is declining overall, it is the most commonly used form of payment.”

Mobile wallets need to offer more

Flynn said respondents said they expected to continue using cash as their primary and favored form of payment through 2020. “To shift consumers’ payment behaviors will take more than just providing another ‘me too’ mobile payments option,” said Flynn. He said merchants needed to “identify and provide next-generation, value-added services” if they wanted customers to make the leap to using mobile payments.

Michael Abbott, also a managing director at Accenture, stressed that the existing payment system of using cash and cards is still working for people, and as long as that’s true, there isn’t much incentive for people to adopt mobile payments. “Consumers expect more in today’s fast-paced digital environment,” said Abbott.

Use of PayPal, on the other hand, is rising, jumping from 14% usage last year to 18% this year. And people feel optimistic about the possibility of using mobile payments in the future; 60% of survey respondents said they think there will be an increase in mobile wallet adoption by 2020.