SAN FRANCISCO—What one research and analysis firm is calling “the Gang of Five” is set to dominate mobile wallets as the market moves forward.
Javelin Research said that “gang,” Apple, Google, Amazon, PayPal-eBay and Facebook, are “uniquely suited to dominate mobile wallets” primarily due to the trust consumers have in those brands.
“Over the past three years, the Gang of Five has moved up significantly in consumers’ perception of trust and privacy,” said Javelin, citing findings in its Trust-Innovation-Privacy (TIP) model, which assesses brands using consumer perceptions of trust, innovation and privacy protection. Trust in the Gang of Five as a group has grown so rapidly that it is now eclipsing trust in the payment networks Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover, Javelin said. The research is part of a new report, “2015 Gang of Five: Apple Pay vs. Android Pay vs. Samsung Pay vs. Pay Pal Pay.”
Javelin said the research seeks to separate the winners from the losers, and identify how relative adjustments may affect future competitive positioning.
The company said that perceptions of trust and privacy protection related to banks and payment networks declined during the past three years, crossing paths with the Gang of Five. Consumer trust in the aggregated Gang of Five increased from 45% to 80% over the past three years. Similarly, perceptions of privacy protection from the Gang of Five increased.
“If these trends continue, the innovators’ need for a bank or network partner for mobile wallets begins to vanish and the door opens to disintermediation,” said Mary Monahan, research director of mobile at Javelin Strategy & Research. “Financial institutions need to identify strategic technology partnerships with these “hot” visionaries and get back to basics with what the core consumer wants from a mobile wallet – trust and privacy.”