Mobile wallets, in case you have not heard of them, offer consumers the ability to pay for their purchases not with cash or their credit cards, but with their phones. Many consumers are embracing this new method of payment because they already carry their phones everywhere; being able to pay by phone will allow them to leave their cash and cards at home. Other countries such as Japan and Africa have used the mobile wallet for years now.
Money Saving Benefits of the Mobile Wallet
Here is a list of benefits the mobile wallet can provide -
1 – Real-time Coupons - One feature that may draw people to use their mobile wallets more often is the ability to utilize real-time coupons, specifically targeting them based on their current location or their past shopping patterns. For instance, if you are walking by an ice cream shop, your mobile wallet may be able to present you with a discount as you walk by the shop. If you don’t feel like ice cream that day, you can save the coupon for the next time you walk by the shop.
2 – Real-time Discounts - In addition, you will be able to opt into and utilize loyalty programs in real-time. For instance, according to Forbes, if you buy five cans of Coke from a vending machine, you may get the sixth for free because your loyalty rewards were triggered. When you consider all of the loyalty programs available through grocery stores, gas stations, coffee shops, etc., you could save with very little effort on your part.
3 – Retail and Phone Agreements - Currently, Google is working in conjunction with several retailers such as American Eagle, Macy’s, and Jamba Juice, to name a few, to offer customers discounts whenever they use their Google Wallet to pay for purchases according to Mobiledia. In the future, there may be more retailers who team up with mobile wallet providers exclusively to offer discounts.
Disadvantages of the Mobile Wallet
While the Mobile Wallet can offer great convenience, there are also concerns. Consumers already often spend more than they can afford when using their credit cards. Perhaps the mobile wallet’s ease of use and disconnection with the pain of using cash will prompt people to spend even more freely than they do with credit cards.
In addition, with so many discounts at their finger tips, consumers may more frequently fall into the trap of buying something they don’t need because it is a great deal. If you are walking by an ice cream shop without any intention of getting ice cream and a buy one get one free coupon pops up on your mobile phone, you may be more likely to duck into the store with your companion and enjoy an ice cream because it is such a great deal.
While other countries have been using mobile wallets for years, experts say mobile wallets won’t become mainstream until at least 2014, according to TIME, which allows people time to upgrade their existing phones to phones with the mobile wallet technology and also allows retailers time to fit their cash registers with the devices necessary to process mobile wallet payments.
This post was written by staff writer Melissa.
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