With trust a vital factor for consumers when it comes to the adoption of mobile payments, banks hold a significant edge on rival providers but the likes of Nokia Apple and PayPal are catching up fast, according to a survey from GfK Nop.
In a poll of 8603 people in nine countries, GfK found that financial services firms have the highest levels of trust, consideration and preference among consumers, with a score of 48%, when it comes to m-payments. Within this category, high street banks come out on top, with consumers feeling they can be relied upon to safely process payments and manage personal finances.
Mobile and telecommunication brands receive significantly lower levels of trust when it comes to controlling financial transactions - just 10%. Within these brands, mobile network carriers come out on top, but still lag way behind financial brands.
Adoption scores for network carriers, mobile handset and OS providers do, however, see significant uplift among smartphone owners, younger consumers and early tech adopters.
At a brand level, PayPal, Nokia and Apple come out strongly. PayPal is different from most other firms because trust is not as big a big factor in its popularity as familiarity and its identity as a specialist processor.
In China, Nokia is among the most trusted brands, receiving a score of 38% - much higher than its global average of 14% - thanks to its strong brand and reputation in the country.
Meanwhile Apple scores well thanks to a strong brand and a high levels of trust among existing iPhone customers who are already used to using their iTunes account to pay for apps and media content.
Ryan Garner, director, GfK Technology, says: "Creating a mobile payment service that consumers are comfortable adopting means leveraging the trust placed in financial brands, but it is also vital to have a presence in the mobile sector. By tapping into all of these strengths, a mobile payments solution would quickly gain momentum with consumers and put an end to the delays experienced by NFC-based services in recent years."
Overall, 62% of respondents find mobile payments appealing. This is higher among certain key groups, including: younger consumers aged 16-24 (75%), innovators (74%), and current smartphone owners (72%). Developing markets in China (82%) and Brazil (73%) find m-payment services the most appealing, whereas the more established markets like the US and Europe is less enamoured (around 50%).