Mobile Payments: Emergence of dominant design in layered architectures

Mobile payments have been gaining widespread popularity and acceptance in recent years, with an increasing number of consumers shifting towards cashless payments method. Technologies that allow mobile devices to initiate a payment transaction continue to spread across the globe. Fintech services have grown significantly over the years, allowing easy and high-quality online banking and payment services. These IT innovators have put the financial sector under pressure. Additionally, the coronavirus pandemic has resulted in organizations and governments encouraging the use of new payment methods instead of physical cash to prevent the spread of the virus. These two factors have turned the rise of mobile payments into one of the most significant developments in current financial behavior. Countries and regions have taken significantly different approaches to mobile payments. For some regions, mobile payments were an addition to existing digital payments. For others, mobile payments are the main way to introduce people to digital payments in the first place. The COVID-19 outbreak accelerated these developments, though, and mobile payments are likely to stay. The increasing adoption of digital and mobile payments in the financial technology sector has led to the emergence of various new solutions, as the mobile payments’ sector continues to grow, a question arises: is there a an emerging dominant design? The identification of a dominant design within the mobile payment sector is crucial for businesses and policy makers as it can shape the direction of the industry and determine the success of future innovations. This thesis aims to analyze the mobile payments’ solutions from the multiple technological layers point of view, identifying the potential emergence of a dominant design.