U.S. Hispanics Lag Behind In Mobile Wallet Adoption [REPORT]

ThinkNow Research revealed in its latest study ThinkNow Money™ Report 2017 that although U.S. Hispanics are the highest users of smartphones, they are not rapidly adopting mobile-app based payment methods. The study found a low level of awareness of mobile wallet options with more than 20% of Hispanics having never heard of Apple Pay, Samsung Pay and Android Pay.

Marketers may assume the lack of awareness of a mobile wallet such as Android Pay is driven by Foreign Born Hispanics when in fact the opposite is true. The study found that almost 30% of U.S. Born and English dominant Hispanics have never heard of Android Pay compared to only 18% of Foreign Born.

Mobile wallet adoptions have been slow in the U.S. across Total Market with only 19.4% of smartphone users making digital payments, according to eMarketer. The ThinkNow Money study finds one of the factors contributing to its lack of awareness is the failure to capture a majority of users in the 18-34 year old U.S. market that is largely comprised of Hispanics.

“There is growing adoption of mobile wallet technologies in Latin America with companies like YellowPepper that are bringing mobile payments to emerging markets like Columbia,” says Mario X. Carrasco, co-founder and principal, ThinkNow Research. “The mobile wallet market in the U.S. has plenty of room to grow and marketers should look to Hispanic Millennials to increase adoption.”

The nationwide online omnibus survey fielded in March 2017 reaching 1,261 consumers is a representative sample of U.S. Hispanics, African-Americans, Asians and non-Hispanic whites regarding attitudes about money and personal finances. The survey analyzed attitudes towards spending and saving, perception of banks and financial products and services.

Among the key findings of the report include:

  • Hispanics (62%) expressed the most concern about their financial future followed by African-Americans at 60%.
  • More than two-thirds (67%) of Asians are actively saving money or investing in retirement compared to only 49% of African-Americans.
  • Forty-percent of Total Market say saving money is difficult for them and they do not make enough money to contribute to savings at all.
  • Hispanics (50%) and African-Americans (46%) report being the most cautious about spending their money.  

To download report CLICK HERE.

 

 

 

 

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