Two-thirds of Americans would rather hang onto the cellphone they have than switch to one that would let them make mobile purchases, said a story at nfc news, citing a recent Payment Report from Auriemma Consulting Group. Even more would forego mobile payments if it meant changing handsets.

Mobile security concerns (73 percent) and “very high” levels of satisfaction with existing payment methods (66 percent) seem to be the main deterrent to mobile payments, according to ACG.

“Traditional, plastic-based payments remain an effective, efficient, and convenient way to conduct purchase transactions,” said Patricia Sahm, managing director at ACG. “The appeal of using new technology is significant, but merchant acceptance must be widespread in order for it to be adopted widely”.

As always, merchant acceptance is the key. Until that happens, Sahm said payment developers could help consumer acceptance along by offering liability protection for low-value purchases as credit cards commonly do.

“Voluntary adoption of similar consumer liability limitations for mobile payments could go a long way in providing consumers with the peace of mind to comfortably use mobile payments technology,” said Dr. Sahm. She said standardization at the point of sale is also essential. “The card networks became so ubiquitous by providing retailers with a convenient form of payment that functioned efficiently with virtually all retailers’ point-of-sale designs. Having similar standardization for point-of-sale could help to advance mobile payments.”

For more on this topic, visit our trends/statistics research center.