Watching the mobile payments market is enough to make you dizzy. One day it’s all the rage, then the hype dies down as we learn that mobile payments represented only 4% of transactions in 2015. Now the user behavior of millennials is projected to cause a huge spike in mobile payment transactions in 2016 and beyond. So what gives?

To say nobody cares about mobile payments is a bit of an exaggeration, but the numbers are pretty dismal compared to what analysts expected as we kicked off 2015. The Federal Reserve's Consumers and Mobile Services Financial Report for 2015 suggests that only about 4% of consumers actually use mobile payments today, and that only 13% of consumers have actually attempted a mobile payment.

New stats indicate that millennials will drive the future of the mobile wallet.  They are the up and coming group considered "mobile disruptors" that are reshaping the thought process of the payments industry. As wearables and mobile wallets pick up momentum with the younger audience, it's important for credit unions to understand behavioral trends not only for payments, but also for money transfers within mobile banking.

Apple wants to own your members’ wallets.

If you didn’t think Apple Pay was just the beginning, maybe a quick historical refresher will put things into perspective. Remember when the only carrier you could purchase an iPhone from was Cingular (Now AT&T)?  Believe it or not, that was 2007. It was contract exclusivity and it lead to tactics such as ‘jailbreaking’ and ‘bricking’: People wanted the iPhone, but not on AT&T’s network. Some experts believe Apple’s exclusive contract with AT&T was a trillion dollar blunder; did they realize there was more at stake than just money?

The payment technology industry changes like the wind with new players always working towards getting into the game. Whether it's driven by the phone carrier or financial institutions, new mobile banking apps and "mobile wallet" options are being developed in hopes of growing that market segment willing to trust their phones to also act as their wallet. And now the newest entrance to this market is expanding to more banks and credit unions.

Now that retailers have been ‘encouraged’ to accept chip-and-PIN cards, transactions have become a little more annoying.  Until recently we all would have agreed that it was easier to just pull out your card and swipe it.  Mobile payment apps actually provide for a marginally faster transaction process than swipe (0.4 seconds faster to be precise) and are a little friendlier. Especially since everyone in the check-out line is staring at their phone anyway!  Not to mention the reduced need to carry a wallet. 

Selfie lovers rejoice! It’s the dawn of a new day, at least technologically speaking. Today MasterCard announced it is set to begin testing a verification method that would allow card holders to verify online purchases with a selfie.The app will require card holders to take a picture of themselves each time they make a purchase.