Europe Leads the World in Mobile Payments. Asia Is Second. And North America Is...?

Europe leads. And Asia was second. Which means North America, that font of high tech innovation and American exceptionalism was...number #3?

Hmmm. How do we account for the disparity between rhetoric and reality?

Well, one might argue that Americans, having been wealthier longer have had access to credit cards - and substantial credit - for so long that the advantages of mobile payment systems doesnt seem like such an awesome development.

But neither can one ignore the impact of monopolistic American cellular corporate and regulatory structures on innovations that do not redound exclusively - or at least primarily - to the advantage of the oligopolistic institution. And what the rest of the world refers to as the 'Anglo-Saxon economic model,' eg unbridled competition in some spheres means that it is tough to make a living if you are one of many mobile payments enterprises attempting to funnel sales and profits through a channel tightly controlled by a commercial entity considering the possibility of competing for this business itself.

The difference in Europe and Asia may well be that even though the state telephone companies are also monopolies, they are beholden to the state, which is, in turn, beholden to the voters. This democracy thing does convey economic advantages occasionally. JL

Chris O'Brien reports in VentureBeat:

Europe was first among regions, with 24% of all mobile payments. Asia was second with 17%.

Europe remains the leading region when it comes to adopting mobile payments, according to a new study.

Adyen, the Amsterdam-based payment technology company, released the findings as part of its Q3 Mobile Payments Index. It’s worth noting that the index covers the last period before Apple Pay launched, a service many hope will give mobile payments a boost.

Overall, mobile devices accounted for 23.3% of all online payments for the three months ending September 30, according to the report. That was up from 21.5% in the previous quarter ending in June.

Europe was first among regions, with 24% of all mobile payments. Asia was second with 17%. Asia was also the fastest growing, with 58% year-over-year growth, according to the report.

North America remained essentially unchanged from the previous quarter at 16.7%, according to the report.

“The future belongs to businesses that will continue to adapt to local mobile payment preferences and streamline the checkout flow,” said Roelant Prins, Ayden’s chief commercial officer, in a statement.