New research from Parks Associates finds over 50% of U.S. broadband households want the ability to scan barcodes for product price and promotional information on their next mobile phone. The international market research firm's new whitepaper "Mobile Payment—Stepping into Uncharted Territory,” released ahead of this week's GSMA Mobile World Congress, reports 37% of U.S. mobile phone owners find the mobile wallet concept appealing, with interest highest among younger households and smartphone owners.

"Mobile Payment—Stepping into Uncharted Territory” reports that various mobile payment technologies, including the emerging NFC-based retail mobile wallet solutions, processed over $10 billion in transactions in 2011 in the North American market alone, with consumer interest in mobile payments steadily increasing. The whitepaper highlights new types of mobile payment technologies and solutions and analyzes current and future benefits to consumers, mobile carriers, small and medium businesses, mobile app and solution developers, and brick-and-mortar retailers.

Currently, 50% of U.S. broadband households own a smartphone, and 80% of U.S. mobile phone users have a web browser on their mobile handset. Mobile payment, or mPayment, is the purchase of goods or services (physical, digital, or virtual) for which a mobile phone is used in the payment process, either in person, in a retail store, or remotely, using mobile broadband access or cellular network infrastructure.

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