UK mobile finance market doubles in 2011

One in ten UK consumers now use ‘mobile wallet’ whilst one in five use mobile banking

The use of ‘mobile wallet’ technology amongst UK consumers has more than doubled in the last 12 months with more than one in ten people now making payments via their mobile, says Mobile Life, a TNS research paper into use of mobiles in the UK. Moreover, one in five UK consumers now use their mobile to perform basic banking functions such as checking their account balance - also up more than 100% on last year.

Thanks largely to the surge in smartphone technology and the accessibility of such products to the wider market, in the UK 11.9% of consumers now use their mobiles to make payments online. The figure, up from only 5.9% twelve months ago, means more than one in ten of us now uses mobile wallet technology. The percentage of people who regularly bank via their mobile is now 20.4%, up from 9.7% in 2010, again demonstrating the rapidly growing adoption of mobile technology.

Mobile wallet technology allows the consumer to use their phone like a debit or credit card to pay for items online. It doesn’t require a bank account and can be topped up with money to store in order to facilitate easy transactions at any time. Mobile banking encompasses the more basic functions of online finance, like checking your account balance or making purchases securely, both of which can be performed either through apps or mobile internet.

Stephen Yap, Group Director at TNS Technology, said, “The huge increase in the use of mobile wallet technology in the UK shows the dramatic effect technology is having on our lifestyles. The incredible success of the smartphone is encouraging people to migrate many of their key online activities onto their mobile. In the last twelve months in particular the openness of the Android platform has increased handset competition and driven down prices, meaning that more and more people are able to use their handset as a payment tool.”

“As we become more familiar with smartphones and as mobile networks improve, we should see this number increase further, until mobile is the primary platform for most everyday online functions, including making payments,” said Yap. “Soon we could be seeing phones as our primary portals for all online needs, particularly as the growth of the cloud will place less emphasis on storage space and more on mobile access points.”

On the rise in mobile banking, Yap said, “The increase in mobile banking is a further proof point that mobile is the coming platform. Banks need to get their house in order to ensure that their mobile offer is as strong as their online one, as this could rapidly become a key differentiator for consumers.”

– ENDS –

About TNS Mobile Life

www.discovermobilelife.com

Mobile Life is an annual investigation from TNS designed to provide a deep understanding of today’s global mobile device consumers and the future impact mobile will have on our digital landscape.

34,000* interviews with mobile users across over 43 countries (including the BRIC countries, Indonesia and several key African markets) provides real insight into how consumers across the world are using and interacting with mobile technology and delivers a holistic understanding of the end-to-end consumer experience and how this will change in the future.

About TNS

TNS is the global leader in custom market research delivering actionable insights and research-based business advice to clients around the globe so they can make more effective business decisions. TNS offers comprehensive industry knowledge within the Consumer, Technology, Finance, Automotive and Political & Social sectors, supported by a unique product offering that stretches across the entire range of marketing and business issues, specializing in product development & innovation, brand & communication, stakeholder management, retail & shopper, and qualitative research. Delivering best-in-class service across more than 80 countries, TNS is dedicated to discovering growth opportunities for its clients in an ever-changing world. Through its pioneering and innovative culture, TNS understands the latest marketing challenges and research techniques, being the first to discover and solve new marketing issues for clients.

DISCOVER – A changing world: New territories, new media, new opportunities.

TNS is part of Kantar, one of the world’s largest insight, information and consultancy networks.

Please visit www.tnsglobal.com for more information.

About Kantar

Kantar is one of the world’s largest insight, information and consultancy networks. By uniting the diverse talents of its 13 specialist companies, the group aims to become the pre-eminent provider of compelling and inspirational insights for the global business community. Its 28,500 employees work across 100 countries and across the whole spectrum of research and consultancy disciplines, enabling the group to offer clients business insights at each and every point of the consumer cycle. The group’s services are employed by over half of the Fortune Top 500 companies.

For further information, please visit us at www.kantar.com