Consumers Want Banks -- Not Google or PayPal -- As Primary Providers of Digital Wallets

A majority of customers would trust their bank as the primary provider of a mobile wallet over nonbank entities and telecommunications companies, a new survey found.

The results were issued in a whitepaper titled "The Mobile Shopping Revolution, How Mobile is Redefining Shopping and Payments," released by business advisory firm AlixPartners. Seventy percent of consumers surveyed rate their primary bank as safeguarding their personal information "extremely well" or "very well." Among those interested in using a digital wallet, 74 percent would prefer that their primary bank serve as the provider, compared to 23 percent who say PayPal and 15 percent who say Google. The survey was conducted in mid-December to an online panel of 6,000 U.S. consumers.

AlixPartners also found that consumers are becoming increasingly interested in digital wallet products. According to the study, 25 percent of consumers with a mobile device are aware of the digital wallet concept, with the highest awareness levels among consumers between the ages of 26 and 44, where levels exceed 30 percent. Consumer interest in the digital wallet concept will continue to grow as mobile devices play an increasingly important role in consumers' shopping and purchase decision-making, according to the study.

In regards to safeguarding personal information, 56 percent of consumers believe their primary bank "always" or "mostly" uses personal information in the customer’s best interest, while only 30 percent believe this is true for large retailers, 27 percent for Google, 25 percent for Apple and 19 percent for Facebook. "Consumers are drawing a clear distinction between banks and other digital providers, and banks are scoring high as firms that consumers are comfortable sharing their confidential, personal information with," said Bob Hedges, managing director in AlixPartners' Financial Services Practice.

Bryan Yurcan is associate editor for Bank Systems and Technology. He has worked in various editorial capacities for newspapers and magazines for the past 8 years. After beginning his career as a municipal and courts reporter for daily newspapers in upstate New York, Bryan has ... View Full Bio