Ask the Expert: The Trouble With Mobile Payments

Assistant Professor Sun Young Ahn researches consumer behavior and decision-making, retailing, and consumer well-being. She teaches courses in marketing principles and research, consumer behavior, and sustainability marketing.

FAST AND EASY

Mobile payments are designed to be instantaneous, which makes it easy to forget where the money is coming from. “Be aware of the possibility of overspending,” Ahn advises. “There is no break time in the transaction process to think, Do I really need this purchase?”

SET A LIMIT

With interest rates climbing, it’s never been more important to keep tabs on the credit cards linked to payment apps. Ahn suggests setting a budget or spending limit for your digital wallet and signing up for text alerts if that amount is reached.

PROCEED WITH CAUTION

There’s a generation gap with those embracing financial technology and, not surprisingly, it’s mostly younger consumers adopting digital wallets. But the pandemic brought on a surge of mobile payment services and changed how consumers of all ages behave: The new normal now includes contactless grocery shopping, for instance, and ordering takeout with a couple of taps on a smartphone. But, regardless if you’re a millennial or baby boomer, Ahn advises taking the time to learn the new technology— and the safeguards. “As more consumers adopt mobile payments,” she says, “more scammers will follow.”