MasterCard reveals who's Mobile hot and who's not

MasterCard has undertaken a comprehensive study with regard to Mobile Payments Readiness and compiled a list of those markets ready to adopt the new technology.

Despite the frantic launches taking place over the last few weeks of mobile and digital wallets that would have us believe that the rustle of crispy notes are on their death bed with the life support machine about to be turned off, this report shows us that although it's too early to talk about the adoption of mobile payments globally, some countries are making progress toward attaining the right mix of market forces and consumer acceptance towards mobile payments.  landscape.

Using public and proprietary data, as well as original market research, the survey gauges the preparedness and receptivity of 34 countries for mobile payments of three varieties – person to

person (P2P), mobile e-commerce (m-commerce), and mobile payments at the point of sale (POS).

The Index runs on a scale of zero to 100, with 100 representing complete replacement of plastic cards by mobile devices, an unlikely scenario.

In MasterCard's judgement, the point of inflection—the stage at which mobile devices account for an appreciable share of the payments mix—is a Mobile Readiness score of 60. The 34 countries in the current Index achieved an average score of 33.2. No market reached 50, indicating there is work to be done before mobile payments become mainstream. Just as I thought, your child will not be receiving a mobile payment from the the tooth fairy just yet...................

To view the full report, go to http://mobilereadiness.mastercard.com/the-index/

To look at roles in the card and payment industry, go to http://www.cardandpaymentjobs.com