Are Mobile Payments Replacing Credit Cards and Cash?
Mobile Payment Apps are growing more popular, and a future without cash is becoming accessible and easier to see. Nevertheless, we should still consider other options for transactions and decide what is best for our collective future.
Over the past few decades, paying for goods and services with cash or a credit card has been the most popular way of payment. However, in the past couple of years, companies like Venmo and Cashapp have introduced a new way of paying for your things: Using your phone.
So, what exactly are mobile payments? Mobile payments are transactions made through mobile devices, which are usually phones. Consumers can go through their transactions by accessing their credit cards through a mobile payment app. A user can pay for virtually anything by tapping their device on a contactless reader machine, which should identify the credit card because of the mobile payment app they are using.
The revolutionary technology — Mobile payments are taking the payment industry by storm. According to a study run by Nerd Wallet, an astonishing 79% of Americans use mobile payment apps, including 94% of millennials. Essentially, every major retailer supports mobile payments, and tech companies continue to make these payments more manageable and secure. As a result, these mobile payments will play a significant role in the future of purchasing goods and services.
As a high school student, these mobile payments are already quite prominent in my everyday life. For example, when I go out with my friends, I have friends that pay with Apple Pay instead of struggling with change. Additionally, there have been countless situations when I’m in a store, and I see fellow consumers using their watches to pay for their goods effortlessly. Many of my peers and I already know that as soon as I get my credit card, I will hook it up to one of the plethoras of mobile payment apps, which will significantly simplify my busy life.
Mobile Payments seem to be the perfect alternative to credit cards, but why do we need to use them? Comparing mobile payments with credit/debit cards and cash is still essential. First of all, with mobile payments, everything is on your phone, and with other forms of payment, a wallet is required. Having your credit card on your phone may be a good thing because it makes one’s life easier; however, what happens if one’s phone gets hacked? This could prove costly. The saying “Don’t put all of your eggs in the same basket” can apply in this scenario because if a user’s phone is hacked, the hacker will have access to essentially all the information that a user tries to prevent leaking out. Therefore, while mobile payments seem perfect, there are risks involved.
After all this information, it is natural to wonder which form of payment is better: the newer mobile payments or the more traditional ways? And the answer to that is — Though there are potential risks with mobile app payments, more recently, mobile apps are far superior to using credit cards or cash. And this is because of how convenient and simple mobile payment apps are. So, to sum everything up, apps such as Venmo and Apple Pay are here to stay, and in the future, consumers will pay for their goods and with mobile payment apps.
What Does This Mean For the Future:
Mobile payments are a method of payment that is much more convenient and will be used more and more as we become more technologically advanced.