66 percent say smartphone over credit cards
Nearly two-thirds of Americans believe that smartphones will overtake credit cards for payment transactions, the results of a Harris Poll revealed recently.
According to Harris, 66 percent see smartphone payments replacing credit cards and 61 percent see smartphones replacing cash for the majority of purchases.
Additionally, 13 percent of respondents said that they have either paid via smartphone themselves or witnessed smartphone payments firsthand, with the latter being more prominent. Eight percent have witnessed smartphone payments while 4 percent paid in this manner themselves.
Immediate interest isn’t evident
Despite the overwhelming results pointing to a future takeover of smartphone payments, Americans aren’t ready to say that it will happen in the immediate future just yet.
While 66 percent of respondents do see smartphone payments replacing credit cards eventually, only 32 percent think it will happen within the next five years.
Along those same lines, 61 percent see smartphones replacing cash for the majority of purchases eventually, but only 26 percent see this happening within five years.
Some looking forward to this technology more than others
Results of the poll revealed that certain segments of the population are more interested in smartphone payment technology than others.
For starters, 32 percent of men report interest in this technology, versus 22 percent of women. In addition, 38 percent of homes with children have strong interest in the technology, versus 22 percent of homes without children.
For age groups, Echo Boomers lead the way with 40 percent interest, followed by Gen Xers (34 percent), Baby Boomers (18 percent) and Matures (7 percent).
Harris Interactive conducted The Harris Poll mentioned here between November 14 and 19, 2012.