52% of UK Consumers Worry About M-Commerce Security

With more and more UK consumers happily embracing mobile and sales of smartphones and tablets going strong, you’d think that the time when Britons will substitute mobile wallets for their cash is not far away.

However, a new poll from research firm Toluna and messaging security firm Cloudmark that I read today reveals that this is not quite the case.

In fact, the research points out that more than half of British consumers, or 52% to be more precise, have doubts about security on mobile platforms. Young consumers, aged 18 to 24, have the most trust in m-commerce, with well over three-quarters of them having no security concerns. This fact chimes with their reputation of being the most enthusiastic mobile users in Britain.

A more surprising finding that emerges from the poll is that almost one in five surveyed believe that sending text messages was more secure a year ago than it is now. Once again, one in three 18-to-24-year-olds still think SMS to be the most trustworthy form of communication. In comparison, only 14% of those aged 55 and over share this opinion.

As far as access to social media is concerned, mobile is the primary way of visiting such platforms for more than half of the youngest consumers, while more than one in five polled claim that instant messaging services are losing their appeal.