Study: Subscribers would switch carriers for m-payments

Close to half of contactless payment users would switch mobile operators to gain access to mobile payment services, according to new U.S. consumer research commissioned by the not-for-profit, multi-industry association the Smart Card Alliance. The association reports that 9 percent of the U.S. population now has a contactless credit or debit card (i.e., credit cards, key fobs, smartcards or other devices which use RFID for making payments)--last year, the number of open network contactless cards in circulation reached 35 million, up from 19 million in 2006. Smart Card Alliance research notes that current contactless users are twice as likely to use mobile wallet services as non-users, with 43 percent of contactless users likely to use a mobile device to make payments compared to 19 percent of non-users. Forty-seven percent said they would move to another mobile carrier if it meant the difference between having access to mobile payment options.

For more on the Smart Card Association report:
- read this release

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