As mobile payments and mobile wallets slowly start to take off here in the UK, the Telegraph took a look at how its used in Japan, where it’s been available for several years now.
Journalist Michael Fitzpatrick tested out Japan’s mobile payment capabilities by attempting to travel from one side of the country to other other, only paying with his smartphone.
Read about his travels on the Telegraph website.
Whilst Michael found his phone payments accepted in a lot of restaurants and retailers, and some unexpected places, such as ski lifts, Â even with 70 million “tap-and-pay” phones in use in Japan, there are still “black spots” where such payments are not expected, and he would have to resort to card or cash.
In a country such as ours, where this technology is in its early days, this problem is even more pronounced.
The multitude of phone networks, mobile makers, payment providers and banks starting trials in mobile payments is making it difficult for retailers to decided which route to take, and consumers which technology to adopt.
The forthcoming Olympics may help to promote mobile payments to a wider audience in the UK, but this lack of standards is likely to hold mobile payments back.