A survey by US market research and consulting firm Chadwick Martin Baily (CMB) found that 15 per cent of respondents used a mobile wallet in the past six months, and an additional 22 per cent anticipate doing so in the coming half year.

That represents a doubling of wallet usage since 2013, said CMB, who partly explain the upward trajectory with another finding: While security remains users’ number one concern, it is less of a barrier than in the past.

Now 62 per cent of respondents say security is the main barrier, down from 73 per cent in 2013. CMB theorises that the “near ubiquity of online shopping (86 per cent have made a purchase from their desktop or laptop in the past 6 months) may be acclimating consumers to perceived security risks like identity theft”.

The survey is also optimistic about how wearables can spur a take-up in mobile payments. “While many consumers don’t yet see the benefit to using their phone at the point of sale, the ability to scan a wearable device, like a smartwatch, at the register may help consumers overcome this convenience barrier,” it said.

Nearly 40 per cent of those “highly likely” to buy a wearable in the coming year want it to come with mobile wallet functionality, the report claims as evidence.

In addition, a majority of likely wearable buyers said that the presence/absence of a mobile wallet on a wearable will have “a major impact” on their purchase decision.