Preferable payment method: Mobile payment
Transactions are indispensable for developing human society. However, is money essential in form of physical? “Banking are necessary, but banks are not.” Gates (1997), co-founder of the Microsoft Corporation, anticipated that mobile payment would be applied by 2 billion people in 2030 although they don’t have bank account now. Mobile payment is catching on around the world. As an international financial center, Hong Kong should have stronger promotion of mobile payment because both clients and businesses are benefited.
Firstly, clients are main beneficiary of mobile payment because of the convenience and strong security. It is handier to put all things into a ‘small screen’, as Apple Pay, clients can store their information of credit cards in their mobile wallet and pay via phones so they are not required to bring lots of heavy banknotes and cards. Moreover, the advanced technologies can both eliminate human negligence and accelerate transaction process. Not as cash, tedious process of changing and taking cash is deleted. Time can be saved due to the efficiency of mobile payment. Although using chip card only takes about 13 seconds, mobile wallet is even faster and just takes 6 seconds (Wall Street Journal report, 2016). Additionally, it provides more various options to pay. For instance, passengers may feel embarrassed if they have not enough cash to pay taxi fare. Fortunately, local taxis is now accepting mobile payment too. (Scmp,2017) People can pay taxi fare by either WeChat Pay or Alipay if they run out of cash, therefore such awkward situations of transaction could also be avoided. However, some people may concern about the security issue. According to survey in Pymnts (2015), nearly half claimed mobile payments are not secure. In fact, mobile payment is more secure than credit card. Mine (2012) mentioned that a lot of data can shelter customers but it isn’t accessible in plastic credit card. For example, GPS in phones help payment providers identify clients, and PIN in phones can enhance security.
Not only customers, but also brands are benefited. The biggest reward to companies is that profit can be maximized. According to five forces model, Porter (1979) believed diminishing buyer power can help generate more sales. That means the more gratification customers fill, the more revenue companies will earn. To satisfy customers, companies should accept mobile payment. Besides, collected data through mobile payment help merchants understand about consumers preference better. (vantiv, 2017) For example, merchants can know which type of goods customers like the most, and how much or how often they purchase. Based on those information, companies can make accurate marketing decision that meet customers need. In long term, customers’ loyalty would highly likely to be built because of the improved marketing strategies and the available payment methods. While earning more revenue, cost can also be saved. Price of card reader or app is more reasonable than the point of sale equipment in traditional payment. It also reduces expenses of printing as paper receipt is converted to electronic version. (Rampton, 2017) Therefore, profit can be maximized
In conclusion, Mobile payment is windfall for everyone. Although it is universal in global, it is still not prevalent in HK. Society needs time to accept innovation. In the future, security system would be upgraded, and people would realize the advantages of mobile payment soon. Hong Kong will finally welcome mobile payment.