Less than 50% of merchants have explored mobile solutions

Less than 50% of merchants have explored mobile solutions, concludes an annual survey by payments expert, CMSpi. The 2015 UK Payments Insights report highlights that the key concerns for merchants with regards to mobile payments are security, speed of processing and cost.

The most popular mobile solutions – and those most likely to be implemented – were contactless and Point-to-Point Encryption (P2PE), whereas m-commerce was a distant third.

The Payments Insights report – conducted by CMSpi – surveys hundreds of businesses across all merchant sectors in the UK. This includes names such as Shell, Arcadia Group, Travelodge, Morrisons, Matalan and Spar.

Brendan Doyle, CEO of CMSpi, says: “Despite the hype brought about by emerging payment types such as Apple Pay and Zapp, we aren’t seeing this play out in increased merchant adoption. The report revealed wariness when it comes to new solutions – with merchants considering implementing P2PE and contactless only now despite their five-year availability. It’s our opinion that even a mobile payment solution that is secure, cost efficient and fast will take time to gain critical mass.”

More than 60% of all merchants surveyed are now using integrated point-of-sale (POS) terminals, however. A terminal is considered “integrated” when connected directly to the POS till.

Doyle adds: “Integrated terminals mean that staff do not have to key in the transaction value when overseeing the transaction, resulting in fewer errors and a faster process. There are also further reconciliation benefits.”

The survey also looks at trends relating to cash in transit, regulation and service levels. The full report can be found here.