Pew Internet Study: Mobile Payments Will Be Ubiquitous In 2020

Eight years from now, taking our your wallet at the grocery store may make you look as outdated as the act of pulling out a cell phone and "flipping" it open is today. The majority of Americans believe that the majority of Americans will be fully engulfed in the world of mobile payments by 2020. Yes, it was kind of a circular question, but 65% of people said they believe the majority of Americans will embrace the mobile wallet.

Here is how the Pew Internet & American Life Project survey question was worded, asking participants if they agreed with this statement: "By 2020, most people will have embraced and fully adopted the use of smart-device swiping for purchases they make, nearly eliminating the need for cash or credit cards. People will come to trust and rely on personal hardware and software for handling monetary transactions over the Internet and in stores. Cash and credit cards will have mostly disappeared from many of the transactions that occur in advanced countries."

People have been talking about mobile payments for years. It's already a popular phenomenon in regions like Japan, but in the US, consumers and merchants have been a little more reluctant to catch on. That is, until this past year, when the country has gone through a mobile payment revolution. We now have Google Wallet, Starbucks's mobile app, credit card readers to accept payments from anyone through your smartphone, and many other initiatives. Many of these are just beginning to mature.

[via CNN]