Implementation costs remain key barrier to mobile payments
While 2011 wasn't the year that mobile payments hit mainstream, it did seem as if payment technology was heading that way – Google rolled out its mobile Wallet App, PayPal announced its intent to enter the arena and several credit card processors announced mobile payment plans.
What's holding merchants from jumping at these services? According to VentureBeat, it may the cost of integration. While mobile payments may become the de facto point-of-sale solutions some day, the cost-to-benefit rate simply isn't worth it to retailers right now.
"Today's retail systems are so inflexible, the integration of any third-party systems will result in a huge IT expense for implementation," the technology blog explains. "The customization required so that all components of the point-of-sale system … interact with a new mobile payment platform without disrupting the operation of the existing systems is cumbersome … due to complex software integration."
Some retail brands are beginning to dabble in mobile payments. For example, Office Depot just teamed with PayPal to enable customers to pay using their phone numbers.
