Report: Banks Hold the Key for Mobile Shopping in Europe (July 18, 2013)
July 18, 2013
European consumers are most comfortable turning to their banks when it comes to mobile shopping, according to a new report. The study, commissioned by Monitise and conducted by the Future Foundation in May 2013, polled a sample of 1,500 smartphone users in the U.K., Germany and Spain.
Fifty percent of German smartphone users reported they would feel more confident buying goods and services via mobile phone if they could use apps provided by their bank. Elsewhere in Europe, the preference for banks was even stronger; 68 percent of Spanish consumers would rather use a bank-provided app, while 57 percent of U.K. consumers felt the same.
Among the leading factors in U.K. consumers preferring banks were: ease of use (60 percent); incentives, such as loyalty programs (49 percent); and insight from banks on the state of their finances and budgets (46 percent). More than half of those surveyed in the U.K. (57 percent), Germany (51 percent) and Spain (68 percent) said they would trust sites endorsed by a bank. Respondents in all three countries, meanwhile, said they were more open to buying higher-value items, such as flight and train tickets, if they could do so using a bank-endorsed app.
“Consumers place a high degree of trust in their bank’s brand and like all payments ecosystems it is this collaboration to create and share in a bigger prize that will be most successful,” noted Monitise Group CEO Alastair Lukies. “The winning solutions will be built on these partnerships within digital payments and we are very encouraged to see banks, mobile operators and retailers beginning to work together for the consumer.”
