Nearly half of the "most active" mobile device users would welcome the chance to pay for goods and services using their handsets, according to a global survey from Accenture, which also shows the West lags way behind Asia in adoption of the technology.
According to the poll of 1100 "tech forward" consumers from 11 countries, 45% are keen on the concept of mobile commerce, despite the fact that 73% express significant privacy and identity theft concerns.
Respondents in Asia are the most enthusiastic, with 69% indicating they favour using mobile phones for most payments. China comes out on top, on 76%, followed by India (75%), Korea (56%) and Japan (47%).
This contrasts sharply with the US and Europe, where combined only 26% of respondents favour using mobile phones for most payments.
Asked if they had used a mobile phone to make purchases in the past six months, nearly half of 'tech forward' consumers in China indicated they had, followed by Korea (42%) and Japan (33%).
In Asia, 38% of consumers polled have scanned a product's barcode while shopping to get additional information; 36% have displayed a "digital ticket" for admission to an event or to board a flight; and 31% have purchased an item or received a coupon from a "smart poster" containing an electronic tag or barcode.
Over two thirds of all respondents say that mobile phone payments increase the risk of identity theft and fraud but regardless of these concerns, 62% of those that typically use a credit card for non-telco-related monthly payments say they would use their handset to pay their bill, if they were to receive a 20% discount.
More than half say they would welcome receiving money-off promotions based on their past purchases. Nearly half would welcome receiving personalised mobile phone ads when they are within a few steps of the promoted product or service while 69% would gladly accept ads sent to their phones as part of their service contract in exchange for lower usage fees.
When asked what types of companies would play a significant role in enabling consumers to make payments or process coupons by mobile phone, 59% think that role would fall to credit card companies, 54% wireless operators, 52% software companies and large retailers and 48% device makers.
Andy Zimmerman, director, mobility services, Accenture, says: "Mobile commerce - which encompasses mobile banking, such as checking balances or paying bills over a mobile phone, plus coupons, promotions, redeemable gift cards, loyalty points, and more - is poised to drive huge changes in the way we shop and pay for goods and services. We can expect a convergence of traditional and alternative currencies, and it has huge implications on the entire in-store retail experience."