The latest survey of Consumers’ Use of Mobile Financial Services of the Federal Reserve Board found that 28 percent of respondents with a smartphone made payments through their mobile phones, according to a Wall Street Journal commentary. When Amy Finkelstein, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, looked at the data for E-ZPasses on the Mass Pike, she found that people who use the pass are less aware of how much they pay for the toll than are those who use cash. This concerned a research team at the Global Financial Literacy Excellence Center and prompted it to take a closer look at mobile-phone payments. Some of the findings were expected by the team: Ease of payments attracts those who are comfortable with technology and have a busy life. Users of mobile payments are most likely to work full time, have higher education and be male. They are also more active financially. However, Millennials who make mobile payments are much more likely to use credit cards in expensive ways, such as paying only the minimum due or incurring fees. They are also much more likely to overdraw their bank accounts (33 percent of mobile-payment users do it vs. 19 percent of nonusers) and to make withdrawals from their retirement accounts, if they have them. Some 37 percent of mobile-payment users take money from their retirement account vs. 9 percent of nonusers. Read more. (Subscription required.)
*The views expressed in this commentary are from the author/publication cited, are meant for informative purposes only, and are not an official position of ABI.
