Page 5 - Advanced_Payments_Report_2014

ADVANCED PAYMENTS REPORT 2014 – SPONSORED BY

1. Life, karma, whatever

Life, karma, whatever

“You have to trust in something – your gut, destiny, life, Slow Start

karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, Today, many markets in the world have already reached saturation

and it has made all the diference in my life.” in mobile subscriber numbers. For some, mobile penetration has
gone beyond saturation, and there are more mobile connections
than people. But despite the enormous potential, promising pilots,
Steve Jobs, the greatest innovator of recent times, relied on gut
and encouraging forecasts, mobile payments have not yet gained
instinct and not on market research. Surveys, research studies and
popularity except in a few markets primarily in the developing world.
focus groups were not for him; these were not what made Apple
products capture the world’s imagination. The slow starts, the technology trials, investor anxiety and confusion
over the business models, are characteristics common to most early
“It’s hard for consumers to tell you what they want
stage markets. In the early days of internet commerce, technology
when they’ve never seen anything remotely like it.” pundits waxed lyrical about its enormous potential and how it would
make redundant the existing methods of making payments. But
despite the enormous early stage investments, it took many years
for internet commerce to reach critical mass.

This is because we often overlook, that besides technology, the most
important elements of successful innovation are convenience and
ease of use – things that Steve Jobs never lost sight of – famously
Industry Opinion demanding of his product teams that no task should take more
The Advanced Payments Survey (APS) is not a consumer survey. It than three clicks.
does not seek to forecast the future nor does it predict consumer Mobile technology is growing at an enormous rate and gaining
behaviour. Instead, it asks questions about the future from those
momentum, but it will take time before it becomes conveniently
involved in the payments industry. Survey respondents include accessible to consumers and some more before it reaches critical mass.
bankers, card company executives, technology specialists,
One does not need to be a technology pundit to predict that one day,
consultants, entrepreneurs and innovators. in the not too distant future, there will be afordable availability of fast

It refects industry opinion and showcases what industry reliable mobile internet in most places on the globe. Connected to
professionals are thinking, how industry opinions are changing, it will be consumer electronic devices – not just mobile phones and
which emerging payment services are promising and which computers – but household appliances, motor vehicles and even
have lost their magic. It involves deep knowledge of payment clothes and personal accessories – the so called “wearables,” things
technologies, analytical thinking and even some quantitative we use in our daily lives. The term “mobile” will become redundant
decision making. But Steve Jobs may be right here too – perhaps because connectivity preferences will default from fxed to mobile.
the responses come from the gut, destiny, life, karma or whatever. That will usher a whole new era in digital commerce.

www.edgardunn.com | www.paymentscardsandmobile.com Edgar, Dunn & Company in association with Payments Cards and Mobile 5