Loyalty Programs |

Mobile Payment are in a bubble in the US. Geographically, that is. Blue states are typically the most common mobile payment (and technology) consumer friendly locations. Red states are typically reliant on plastic and more importantly cash (less technology) to make a payment. This technology adoption follows the 2016 US Presidential election voting trends.

With the result of the Election and the Republican party winning an election fought on miss-information and half-truths, its interesting to reflect on how the next four years will impact technology innovations and Mobile Payments.

The campaign was won partially on the promise of bringing back jobs in the industrial sector and others that are being taken over by technology. A comparison in the mobile payments industry, is like promising new building for banks branches in the US because it will provide more jobs, even though most Americans are performing their banking activities online.

Can this rebuff of technology and progress in the real world also happen in the mobile payments ecosystem?

The growth of mobile payments can only be successful if it covers the nation and we get more and more customers to change their consumer behavior to scan their phone at the terminal, rather than swiping a card (or even carrying cash).

The result of the election has clearly shown that technology advancement and innovation doesn’t always move as fast we think and many members of the community often perceive technology advancements threats.

So, how does the Mobile Payments Industry prevent technology moving too fast and leaving 51% of America behind, while maintaining a steady growth pattern of consumer adoption and technology improvement in the near and short term.

Is there already an inbuilt emergency brake? In the shape of the Chip & Signature process? I heard a statistic the other day, that it takes 38 seconds to complete a EMV transaction request on a terminal. That is indeed not a technology improvement. In Europe, it a sub 10 second process to complete the cycle. Its interesting to look at other markets around the world. In Europe, The Netherlands and Sweden are much smaller countries but have diverse demographics in cities’ and in rural areas but are moving faster towards a cashless environment than anyone else and have done it within a very short time.

Mobile Payments is totally the future of payments for many Americans living in progressive cities but its going to take much longer to cover the entire United States. The US smart phone coverage is a pretty good indicator of this, we saw over the last 10 years’ smart phone coverage has expanded to all corners of the US, even if the model of the phone are several years behind.

It’s a pretty good bet the mobile payments will be the most popular way of paying in the future, but for now there is still a part of American society that want to walk slowly into the future and use the traditional cash or credit card payment option, which are perfectly fine. However, unfortunately they’ll have to figure out mobile payments, because it maybe the only way to pay in 5 to 10 years’ time and banks and technology merge closer together.

I buy my shirts from a combination of about 4 different stores. They are a mixture of online retailers and physical stores. There is no monthly planning or budgeting on what I should buy or when I buy my shirts, which would allow me to take advantages of sales, I just buy when I want.

I’m typically an impulsive shopper, the process usually goes like this: I open my computer and go through my gmail, tab-by-tab. Starting with the first primary tab, I skim through emails that are important and open different emails, which I’ll read later. When I do come across emails from clothing companies that I’ve signed up for or bought from before (therefore getting an email), I just about always and click on the email and see what is new or what is on sales for that week.

Then, when I’m determining whether I buy something I go through a simple calculation of what I think I’ve bought this month and if I have any money left to spend and how important is it to get this shirt (and what is the price). But then, the most important part is, I look how much I have in my virtual account with the retailer (or loyalty points). This comes in the form of points or direct money which will contribute to my total purchase price. The feeling that I’m getting a discount pushes me over the line most of the time. Loyalty points are typically generated by previous purchases with the retailer. They often run promotional offers where you can get double points for a purchase.

All of us are a creature of repetitive behavior. The process I go through is typical of me and I’ve probably done it about 20 times over the last 4 years. I think this is really important for marketers and advertises to understand. Facebook do a great job of this, where if I like a clothing company on Facebook, it will suggest several other similar clothing companies. That’s great, they’re all very similar to my taste and not something completely different and therefore more likely that I buy something.

Sharing loyalty between similar companies. My loyalty points are very important when making a buying decision. If I was able to provide information to the 3 or 4 companies I typically shop at, about my needs for shirts and when I think I need them and I could get a discount and/or add to my loyalty program. That would be huge.

I’m a loyal shopper and I’m happy to send information on my buying behavior to retailers I trust to allow them to make better decision on what sort of advertising they in turn send to me.

The payments ecosystem is becoming more transparent and streamlined to allow and to become a more accurate and effective payment process. You can see this clearly with the strides that blockchain technology has made within the last year. If this can be applied to the interactions and trust between the buyer and the merchant and encouraging brand loyalty via the payments and advertising ecosystem merging together. The world would be a better place.