CHICAGO — Google, Isis and PayPal each are attempting to position their mobile wallets as the one consumers will prefer to use on their smartphones.
But whether or not consumers will use more than one wallet sparked a spirited debate during a panel discussion here Oct. 25 at the Electronic Transactions Association's Mobile Commerce Summit.
Tony Abruzzio, who works in sales and account management at Isis, told attendees the company's internal consumer research found smartphone users only want one mobile wallet.
"Multiple wallets are not intuitive," he said.
Isis will use pilots in Austin, Texas, and in Salt Lake City next year to help determine the mobile-wallet experiences consumers want from their phones, Abruzzio indicated.
"When we get to a national launch, consumers will be able to use the wallet for multiple [experiences]," Abruzzio said.
Providers are positioning the wallets as containers of payment and loyalty card information and as a place to store coupons and offers. Google and Isis are banking on Near Field Communication technology to drive their respective wallets.
But PayPal is offering a different mobile wallet experience that does not depend on NFC technology.
In September, PayPal exhibited some ways consumers could shop using the company's mobile products.
One scenario shows a buyer interacting with a PayPal application at a merchant's point-of-sale terminal. Another buyer is seen scanning barcodes at a supermarket, putting those goods in a shopping bag and paying for them instantly on a PayPal mobile-phone app and bypassing the cashier's line.
PayPal also will integrate location-based merchant offers through mobile alerts when a consumer is in a retailer's general area.
John Donahue, CEO of PayPal parent eBay Inc., noted during an Oct. 19 conference call to discuss the company's third quarter earnings that consumers are not comfortable storing payment credentials on a mobile device.
"They are concerned that somehow it will get stolen or intercepted in the airwaves," Donahue said. "People have all sorts of fears."
Patrick Gauthier, PayPal head of market intelligence, told conference attendees here that limiting consumers to one wallet would limit the relationship with the merchant and what merchants could accomplish using the technology.
"[Mobile wallets] are going to be how to facilitate the relationship between the merchant and consumer," he said.
Gauthier warned attendees not to view wallets in the context of just the mobile-phone payments. "To do so is shortchanging what consumers and merchants are looking for," he said.
Mobile wallets also can assist in online purchases and services at kiosks, Gauthier said.
The panelists agreed that mobile wallets need to benefit the merchant, a topic that became an urgent talking point during the conference.
"If the wallet doesn't have the merchant in mind, the relationship fails," Phil Kumnick, senior business leader for global processing at Visa Inc., told attendees. "This should be about making the merchants' business better."
Merchants want a system that will bring consumers into their storefronts, Abruzzio added. Mobile wallets solve the problem of a consumer leaving a paper coupon at home, he said.
Having the coupon in their phone at times will help consumers increase spend when they visit a merchant, Abruzzio added.
