Mobile users continue to adopt mobile payments for purchases under $10, with LevelUp reporting that approximately 3,000 transactions have been completed so far at the South by Southwest conference with an average sale of $7.87.

Attendees at the SXSW conference in Austin, TX, are able to use LevelUp to pay for purchases inside the convention center. Users are embracing mobile payments for its ease and convenience, with LevelUp reporting that the average LevelUp transaction took 9 seconds compared to 15 for credit cards and 18 for cash.

“Mobile payments replace cash and credit cards, which are all completely acceptable ways to pay,” said Matt Kiernan, marketing manager for LevelUp, Boston. “Our biggest challenge right now is proving that what LevelUp  – and mobile payments, in general  – is offering is a much better option for both merchants and consumers.

“Merchants are sick to death of paying interchange fees, and by bringing interchange to zero, LevelUp is providing a very valuable solution for merchants for purchases under $10 and over $10,” he said.

 “The ease and speed of mobile payments is also a key. At SXSW, the average LevelUp transaction took nine seconds, which is between six to ten seconds faster than credit or cash transactions.”

One million users
There are a growing number of options in the mobile payments space. LevelUp is positioned as a mobile app that users can link to their credit card, enabling them to show a bar code at the point of sale to make a purchase.

LevelUp is growing quickly. Four months ago it reached 500,000 users and quickly doubled that number to reach one million users several weeks ago.

Additionally, the company is working on its API and a white-label SDK so others can integrate LevelUp’s payment capabilities.

The SXSW conference is traditionally a time when new technology firms unveil their offerings and try to build some buzz.

“We viewed SXSW as a huge opportunity to bring LevelUp to masses of people, in the technology space, in the mobile space and in the payments space,” Mr. Kiernan said.  

“LevelUp’s takeover was designed to show users how dead simple paying with your phone is, and based on the success of takeover, thousands of people now understand the benefits of LevelUp,” he said.

Repeat use
LevelUp reports that the app was downloaded approximately 3,000 times by SXSW attendees, with 1,500 unique users having completed approximately 3,000 transactions.

The average user has paid with LevelUp 1.95 times so far, with 44 percent of users having already used the app to pay more than once at SXSW.

Additionally, LevelUp has transacted approximately $20,000 in mobile payments volume during the conference so far. The average sale is $7.87 and LevelUp users tipped 18.2 percent.

While SXSW typically attracts tech-savvy consumers, these numbers suggest that a broad array of consumers are discovering the benefits of mobile payments.  

“We just hit our one millionth user mile stone a few weeks back, so we know it’s not just early adopters using LevelUp anymore,” Mr. Kiernan said.

Final Take
Chantal Tode is associate editor on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York