The Future is Digital: UK’s Payments Culture

The advent of the mobile phone (and in particular, the smartphone) has led to the development of innovative ways of conducting business through the hand-held devices. Through software development, a significant number of mobile applications have been introduced. The apps are used for a variety of functions which include mobile payment services. In the United Kingdom, there has been a gradual incorporation of different mobile payment apps in the financial sector. In particular, mobile payment apps have increased the ease of doing business, created an alternate means of income generation for the app developers, and increased the integration of technology use in carrying out financial transactions. Hence, there is a need to evaluate the impact of mobile payment in the UK financial environment.One of the mobile payment services that have been introduced in the UK is Samsung Pay. For anyone living under a rock, this payment service is based on a mobile phone platform which offers a secure and reliable avenue for payments to be made in various shops and retail outlets. Although the service was perceived to be exclusive to Samsung phones, the company was able to enter into agreements with other financial institutions such as Visa and Mastercard. Additionally, various banks began to accept the service as more clients were drawn to using it to complete their financial transactions. As a result, it can be observed that mobile payment can facilitate the sale of mobile phones which leads to widespread utilisation of mobile money technology.

Marketplace

Another mobile payment service available to UK users is Pingit. Pingit is a mobile-based payment service which is able to link an individual’s bank account with the person’s mobile phone number. In particular, this is facilitated by the few requirements that are needed to operate the service. All that is needed is a current account and a registered phone number. The use of Pingit has shown how bank clients can easily and efficiently use their mobile phones to access their bank accounts. In the same category of mobile apps is Paym which uses the same concept as Pingit. As with Paym, the only requirements needed to use Paym is the downloaded app, a mobile phone, and to register with the service. The major benefit of using these specific apps for mobile payment is that the services are secure, personal details are not needed, and the services are fast and easy to conduct. Hence, most bank clients find themselves shifting away from the banking halls and using the services at the comfort of their homes.

Going forward

The change that has been brought by the use of mobile payments in the UK has made it necessary for financial providers to also change the way they do business. Clients prefer using these services since there are no fees required. This means that financial providers are denied a source of revenue. As a result, they have to innovate and find new ways of generating income. It will be interesting to see how banks react to these changes and if they choose to block accessibility to users’ accounts.