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Consumers remain hesitant about mobile payments

Sep 20, 2012 Dave King

Retailers may be coming around to the idea of mobile payments and the technology that goes along with them. However, consumers seem to be slower to warm to the alternative credit option. In a recent survey from CreditDonkey.com, which queried 1,200 people, consumers indicated that they're not ready to abandon their corporeal wallets for digital ones. In fact, 70 percent of respondents said they will stick to cash and traditional credit and debit card offerings. There are a number of reasons for consumers' lukewarm response to mobile payment options, such as a digital wallet. The most prominent concern has to do with security, according to the research. However, there is hope that shoppers will gradually adopt the payment option once the newness of the technology wears away. "Mobile apps and payment options are very new," Charles Tran, founder of CreditDonkey.com, said. "Since most consumers are not early adopters, they still prefer to shop from PCs and in physical stores instead of from Androids, iPhone and BlackBerries." A recent article on Wall Street Daily cited issues of convenience, including the use of multiple passwords, as a roadblock to a "mobile payment boom."