The UK is lagging behind other countries when it comes to using mobile payment technology, according to a survey by corporate card firm Airplus International.
The study found that 12 per cent of companies worldwide are now using smartphone payment solutions – up from only 3 per cent in 2011. While another 5 per cent of firms say they will introduce mobile payment during the next year.
But there were big regional differences in the use of mobile payment with only 9 per cent of UK companies including it in their managed travel programmes, compared to 29 per cent in India and 25 per cent of Australian buyers. Usage was also lower for US-based travel buyers at 14 per cent.
One of the problems is that the majority of travel managers (62 per cent) still see no advantages for them in using mobile payment. But the one-third of those that use these tools say they benefit from simplified travel expense accounting and reporting, better policy compliance and overall card management.
Airplus UK managing director Yael Klein, said: “While the common consensus among both experts and users is that mobile payment technology is here to stay, how soon it will be implemented depends on two competing elements.
“On the one hand, adoption depends on both the travel manager and traveller's knowledge and acceptance of mobile payment technology while on the other side there are wholly exogenous factors such as which mobile payment systems will become the most widely used in the business travel market."
airplus.com