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Study: Despite increased use, mobile payments, banking dogged by security concerns

A new report from Interactive Advertising Bureau, in partnership with InMobi and Viggle, has found that mobile users are increasingly using mobile devices to manage their money. The report shows that 58 percent of consumers regularly use their bank's mobile app and 50 percent use their bank's mobile-optimized web site.

"Clearly, mobile users are leaning into their devices for personal finance assistance wherever and whenever they happen to have a need," said Anna Bager, VP and GManage for the Mobile Marketing Center of Excellence at IAB.

But Bager said consumers still have concerns over security with such services even while they're using them more and more.

"Most financial apps already contain rock-solid security, but consumers seem not to be as plugged into that fact, and that knowledge gap can make all the difference in driving further usage and adoption," Bager said. "This is an area that financial services marketers should pay attention to in their future campaigns."

The study found that 52 percent of those surveyed said a concrete guarantee of security —even if they lost their phones — would be a requirement for them to shift more financial activities to a mobile device.

Other results of the survey include:

  • Nearly half of respondents (46 percent) paid bill through mobile devices
  • More than a third (34 percent) paid for real-world goods/services using a pre-paid card on a phone
  • Digital products like music or apps were paid for on mobile device by 45 percent of respondents

"Consumers show a definite willingness and interest in using their smartphones as a mechanism for making payments," said Shrikant Latkar, vice president of global marketing for InMobi. "The impediment is with retailers and individuals not currently being set up to accept those payments. It is fascinating, however, to see how far this has come so quickly. In some cases, like morning coffee, paying with your mobile phone has almost become routine."

The most popular mobile financial tools came from the most familiar names — companies already trusted in the online payment space. The report found that PayPal was used by 37 percent of respondents. Intuit products fared moderately well, with both Mint (11 percent) and TurboTax (9 percent) showing up on respondents' phones. Square was used by 8 percent of those surveyed and Google Wallet by 7 percent.

Read more about trends/statistics.