Using mobile wallets as a substitute for loyalty cards is their most appealing feature, according to a survey by Marketing Sciences, a UK market research firm.

The firm found that among respondents who were enthusiastic about wallets, 49 per cent favoured them for holding loyalty points, ahead of using them to hold/redeem vouchers (43 per cent), make payments  (35 per cent) or act as a travel card (22 per cent).

Overall, the survey found 66 per cent of respondents were open to using a mobile wallet on their phones.

“The obvious benefit which, crucially, is easily imagined by consumers – is of freeing up space in the purse or wallet by leaving all those loyalty cards and paper vouchers at home,” said Richard Snoxell, Marketing Sciences’ research director for technology & digital.

The loyalty card feature is also appealing to consumers because there is little or no perceived risk from this use of a mobile wallet, he added.

Snoxell argues loyalty and vouchers are the most likely features to take mobile wallets from niche to mainstream as they have wider appeal than mobile payments.

On the subject of payments, the survey found 32 per cent were interested in sub-£20 payments but only 15 per cent were content to use a mobile wallet for larger transactions.  The limit on contactless payments in the UK is £20.

The research involved questions aimed at 1,500 UK smartphone owners, aged over eighteen, plus 20 so-called mini-depth interviews conducted in Winchester, where the research firm is based.