Mobile payment applications: offer state of the art in the Italian market

Abstract

Purpose -The purpose of the paper is to provide an initial study on the Italian mobile payment services market, and to identify and assess the main diffusion drivers of mobile payment applications.Design/methodology/approach -The research design integrates an exhaustive census of all Italian mPayment applications and an in-depth analysis of the most significant cases performed through the case studies methodology: ten user companies or ''merchants'' and six service providers were analyzed through semi-structured interviews given to top managers.Findings -Through the census, 21 mPayment applications and related services were identified. In addition to this, the case studies brought greater understanding of the key diffusion drivers: strong inhibitory factors and adoption barriers are still restricting user adoption despite the many benefits related to these services.Research limitations/implications -The research represents a first, exploratory study of a market at its embryonic stage of development. Nevertheless, given the global magnitude of the Italian mobile telecommunications market and the gradual rise of the mPayment paradigm, the analysis can provide a valuable basis for future studies in the field.Practical implications -The findings can support a wide set of stakeholders -both first movers and newcomers of the mobile payment segment -in their offer definition and market making choices.Originality/value -The paper combines a census and a case study methodology to delineate the offer's state of the art for innovative, mobile channel-based payment services; moreover, its assessment of the applications' core benefits, diffusion drivers and adoption barriers can be tested for generalization to different contexts.

A critical review of mobile payment research

“…, de Albuquerque et al(2014),de Reuver et al (2015),Gannamaneni et al (2015),,Ghezzi et al (2010),Goeke and Pousttchi (2010),Hassinen et al (2008),,Hedman and Henningsson (2015),Hwang et al (2007),Isaac and Zeadally (2014),,,Kousaridas et al (2008),Kungpisdan et al (2004),Lam et al (2003),Lim (2008),Lin et al (2008),Mallat (2007),Nan et al (2009),Olsen et al (2012),Ondrus et al (2005),Ondrus et al (2005),Ondrus and Lyytinen (2011), Message protocols14 Alshare and Mousa(2014),,Cheng and Huang (2013),Dahlberg et al (2003Dahlberg et al ( , 2008a,Dahlberg and Öörni (2007),Gannamaneni et al (2015),Goeke and Pousttchi (2010),Hwang et al (2007),Isaac and Zeadally (2014),Lam et al (2003),Misra and Wickamasinghe (2004),Olsen et al (2012),Ondrus et al (2005) Security proofs8 Alshare and Mousa(2014),,Cheng and Huang (2013),Dahlberg et al (2008a), de Albuquerque et al(2014),Hwang et al (2007),Lam et al (2003),Nan et al (...…”

“…,de Reuver et al (2015),Gannamaneni et al (2015),Ghezzi et al (2010),,Lim (2008),Liu et al (2015),Misra and Wickamasinghe (2004),Ondrus et al …”

The effects of convenience and speed in m-payment

“…The high growth of m-payment services is evidence by both remote payment and NFC transactions when purchasing physical products (Holden, 2012). The industrial experts have also anticipated that the m-payment will be one of the future "killer" applications in mobile communications (Ghezzi et al, 2010;Ondrus and Pigneur, 2009). Even though, m-payment has been on the agenda for years, unfortunately only a small number of mobile handset-based or contactless card-based payment solutions have successfully reached mass market (Gonggrijp et al, 2013;Ghezzi et al, 2010).…”

Examining Merchants’ Refusal to Adopt Mobile Payment Systems in Spain

“…Mobile payment is considered by many experts as one of the "killer" or "star" applications with the greatest potential in the mobile communication sector ( [26,32]; and [55]). In this sense, mobile payment can be defined as any type of individual or business activity involving an electronic device capable of connecting to a mobile network in order to successfully complete an economic transaction [39].…”