For the Few Who Do Use Mobile Payments, They Like NFC

Mobile payments have been around for years, offered by the likes of Google , Amazon and Square. But none of the various technologies have been adopted broadly.

Apple is hoping to change that with its own service, Apple Pay, that relies on near-field communication, which involves waving a device in front of a reader. Of U.S. adults who have embraced mobile payments with their smartphones, 37% have used NFC, according to a recent survey by Nielsen that was charted by Statista.

That’s a good level of awareness, ranking just behind the 45% who say they’ve presented merchants a QR code or barcode on their smartphones. NFC use was ahead of people who use their phones to scan codes at the counter, at 29%, and people who say they used card readers like the one offered by Square, which came in at 24%. Peer-to-peer transfers — think splitting the bill at the restaurant table – was 22%.

The numbers varied for tablets, which makes sense considering people are less likely to tote one around. Generally, people were less likely to use tablets than phones for the different types of payments, though there were two exceptions: scanning codes or making direct payments to a peer.

Mobile wallets are gaining in awareness, less so in terms of being adopted. Fewer than 10% of merchants use NFC, the technology that Apple adopted.

A recent study by Thrive Analytics said 80% of consumers are aware of digital wallets, but security worries, ultimate convenience and people’s habits were barriers to adoption. In a different survey a year ago, Nielsen asked U.S. respondents whether they would be willing to use a device to shop at a physical store, and 41% said they would, slightly more than those who said they wouldn’t.