A social media study conducted by MasterCard and Prime Research has identified a high volume of conversation and consumer interest in adopting mobile payments — as well as highlighting a number of barriers to entry.

The Mobile Payments Social Media Study tracked 85,000 social media comments across Twitter, Facebook, blogs and forums around the world and found that there are continued concerns over security and customer support as well as confusion over the array of options available.

Key findings from the study include:

Social media commentary concerning mobile payment technology among early adopters is mixed in tone (58% positive/factual). Those yet to adopt are more positive overall (76% positive/factual).Users based in Europe are the most vocal in expressing opinions about mobile payment technology overall, followed closely by Asia Pacific and the United States. The most positive regions overall are Asia Pacific (China and Australia) and the United States. The most sceptical regions overall are Europe (France, UK) and Canada.Some scepticism is evident in Europe as consumers discuss mobile payment security and general reservations about the feasibility of worldwide adoption as points of concern.Users in the UK express excitement about the convenience and innovation of mobile payments but report inconsistency in acceptance and uncertainty over the timeline for market-wide availability.Across the Latin America and Caribbean regions, non-adopters express a need for clarification on the mobile payment technologies offered as well as a clearer understanding of the cost implications mobile payments may have on their current lifestyles. While adopters mention convenience as a benefit, they also convey concerns for the safety of their payment information.China, Thailand, Australia, Japan and Singapore are the most active countries in mobile payment discussions across Asia.Discussions in the Middle East and Africa tend to either re-tell or redistribute stories which originate in traditional media with the highest shares of discussion stemming from South Africa, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Nigeria.In the United States, users show interest in the compatibility of mobile payments with other payment systems during the transaction process. Other drivers of discussion center on value, longer-term benefits, as well as security. Similarly, conversations stemming from Canada present similar priorities despite lower volume.