Only 17 per cent of consumers want to use mobiles as wallets, according to research from Intersperience.

The consumer research specialist questioned UK adults on their attitudes towards using mobile phone payment systems. The top concern was a lack of security software, with 44 per cent citing this as their chief worry. The Digital Selves project researched the views of more than 1,000 UK consumers and the results coincide with the trial of Google’ s new mobile electronic wallet system in the US ahead of an anticipated UK launch in 2012.

Twenty four per cent of people said using a mobile for payment “feels less secure but I don’t know why”, while a further 24 per cent believe their mobile is more likely to be stolen than their wallet. It also showed that many consumers feel vulnerable following high profile phone hacking scandals. One respondent said: “After the recent phone hacking scandals it’s clear that mobiles can be hacked. I’d be worried criminals would learn to do it.”

Paul Hudson, CEO of Intersperience, says: “There is no doubt that the phone hacking scandals have unnerved consumers. We also detected a marked rise in security concerns when people use devices with mobile internet access compared to fixed access via PCs. These beliefs will impact the pace at which UK consumers adopt mobile payment systems.”

The research showed that eight per cent of adults currently use their mobile phone for payment, although 21 per cent said they would like to use their phone to buy something in future.

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