According to the results of the latest MasterCard Mobile Payments Readiness Index (MPRI), New Zealand ranked 17th out of 34 countries surveyed about mobile payment purchasing.

"New Zealand is moving fast in the area of mobile payments,” says Albert Naffah, MasterCard New Zealand country manager.

"With high smart phone usage and hundreds of thousands of chip-enabled cards already in market, this is an exciting time as we continue to progress towards a world beyond cash.

"We have the right emerging infrastructure to make mobile payments methods widely accepted, but the fact that willingness to adopt is high and familiarity is low signifies that more consumer education is necessary before we see broad acceptance.”

The Index examined consumer responses across the three different payment types; person-to-person, mobile web commerce and mobile contactless payments at the point of sale.

New Zealand earned an overall score of 32.7, below the index average of 33.2 on a scale of zero to 100.

The Index also found that in some markets such as Australia, young affluent consumers between the ages of 18 and 34 years old are the most willing to engage in mobile payments.

"There is a big opportunity for the industry to get behind consumer education and communicate the richness that mobile payments offer, along with benefits like speed and security,” Naffah says.

"This will help drive familiarity levels up and increase the readiness for mobile payments products in New Zealand.

"While the necessary conditions for the adoption of mobile payments are consumer acceptance and industry cooperation, no one entity can develop and promote mobile payments by itself.

"Collaboration between telcos, banks, government and technology providers will be key to fostering an environment that will enable New Zealand to reach critical mass.”

To see more details of the study click here