PayPal trusted for mobile payments

Posted by elena On Thursday, May 12th 2011 in Business

PayPal is the most trusted service for mobile payments, according to a recent consumer survey.

Consumers from nine countries have chosen PayPal as the brand they would most trust to handle their financial data.

The survey was conducted by market research company GfK. A total of 8,603 people participated. The research took place in nine countries that are considered important markets for mobile payment systems.

The countries in question are the United Sates, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, South Korea, China and Brazil. South Korea served as a benchmark, since mobile payments are widely used in that country for a while now.

The results of the survey seem to indicate that online service PayPal is set for success, as mobile payments will become more and more popular in various parts of the world.

Visa and MasterCard were the second and third most trusted brands, behind PayPal. Apple, Nokia and Samsung followed. Mobile operators, which are planning to make good use of the NFC technology in 2011, weren't very high on the list.

NFC technology allows consumers to make a payment just by touching an NFC-equipped phone against a reader. The technology has existed for a few years now, but a market hasn't yet developed, for various reasons.

But things are about to change, as several smartphones equipped with the technology will soon be available on the market. The Bold BlackBerry that Research in Motion are planning to launch quite soon is one of these.

To match this development, mobile operators have started working on ways to implement mobile payments in the most important markets.

GfK researchers surveyed consumers on their opinions about mobile payments. According to the results, China is the country most ready to use them. Seventy-five percent of Chinese consumers said that they were attracted by the concept.

Brazil also seemed ready, with 73 percent of consumers in favour of the idea. South Korea, which served as benchmark, had a result of 72 percent.

France came last with only 42 percent of consumers liking the idea. It could be because in Western Europe, as well as in the United Sates, current payment systems are widely accepted and convenient enough for customers.

PayPal is an online payment service owned by Internet company e-Bay. Its users come from all over the world, although there are restrictions for several countries. Mobile payments could prove a gold mine for PayPal.