By David Bannister

Banks may have a poor reputation with the public, but the majority of people in the UK would be more likely to adopt mobile payment services if they are provided by a bank, according to payment services provider VocaLink.

New research from the firm into UK consumer appetite for alternative ways to pay on mobile devices shows that 81 per cent of those interested in new digital payment methods say they are more likely to adopt such services if they are provided by their bank.

VocaLink developed and will run the mobile proxy service that underpins the Payment Council’s planned mobile payments service, currently scheduled for introduction next year. It will be similar to the Pingit service offered by Barclays.

“These figures demonstrate the opportunity to revolutionise the UK payments industry using portable devices to support the growing population of people who already transact digitally,” said Paul Stoddart, managing director for strategy and business development at VocaLink. “Growth in use of these devices is exponentially faster than it was for services using fixed internet connections.”

The research, undertaken by Accord for VocaLink, includes both qualitative and quantitative analysis across 5,000 UK consumers, merchants and businesses. Among the quantitative findings are:

On the qualitative side, convenience and ease of use were cited asimportant factors in encouraging consumers to adopt these new ways to pay. However security remains as important for new digital methods as well as existing payments methods.

“For those interested in new payment services, 81 per cent indicated they would be more likely to use them if they were provided by their bank – and of those, around half indicated they would be encouraged to transact more using their mobile device. This indicates that banks are trusted to provide safe and secure transactions, regardless of channel and the delivery of alternative payments is a clear opportunity for banks to maintain and build greater customer engagement. Traditional institutions have a key role to play and should be at the forefront of payments innovation by delivering services based on consumer demand,” said Stoddart.

David Bannister is editor of Banking Technology magazine www.bankingtech.com