Other reasons consumers preferred to pay by cards included:

• Paying with smartphone doesn’t work all the time - 25%
• Paying by a card is safer than by mobile device - 24%
• Smartphones losing power constantly– 22%
• A card has better identification – 22%
• It takes longer to pay with a phone than with a card – 18%
• Fears over dropping their smartphone while paying – 15%

Consumers were also asked when is paying with a card better than a smartphone and a business meal was ranked as the number one social situation. Other reasons included:

• Meal with friends
• A date
• Meal with kids
• Meal with parents
• Nightclub or bar
• Picking someone up by buying them a drink

An overwhelming majority (80 percent) of smartphone users say cards can be improved and ranked the features that were most important:

1. Link to loyalty and point programs
2. Hiding credit card numbers from fraudsters
3. Chip and pin encryption
4. Ability to track with GPS if stolen
5. Smartly linked to my smartphone

“Looking at these results, consumers feel more comfortable paying with their cards because they are accepted everywhere and can be much more convenient in various payment scenarios,” said Thiago Olson, co-founder and CEO of Stratos, Inc. “We predict by the end of 2015, connected “all in one digital cards” like Stratos Card combined with paying with smartphones will be the preferred in store payment method for consumers. By 2016, we predict to see more in-store mobile payment volume made using connected devices and wearables than payment directly via phone. Although, mobile wallets like Apple Pay will continue to experience growth in places like grocery stores and big box, in social and business situations, we predict connected all in one cards like Stratos Card to be the preferred form of payment.”

Survey Methodology

This survey was conducted online within the United States by research firm AYTM - Ask Your Target Market among 400 smartphone owners ages 24 - 50 on November 11, 2014 amongst a panel of over 20 million people. AYTM has been used by companies like Adobe, NutriSystem, NBC, Intuit, and Samsung. The research from AYTM has been covered in media outlets such as the BBC, The Huffington Post, Mashable, AdWeek, TIME, USA Today, eMarketer, CNN Radio, and TechCrunch. The data is reported at 95% confidence level with a margin of error of + or - 4.9%.

For complete survey methodology, please contact press@stratoscard.com.

About Stratos, Inc.

Stratos is the creator of the award-winning Stratos Bluetooth Connected Card™, which empowers issuers with a new card offering that consolidates an unlimited number of loyalty, membership and gift cards into a single, smart, dynamic card -- digitizing the wallet. With patented security features and acceptance at more places than any other mobile payment offering, Stratos streamlines the payment experience and empowers cardholders to make better payment decisions. Merchants and issuers partnering with Stratos are able to strengthen loyalty and engagement with better data and improved communications to their customers without infrastructure change. Stratos was founded by Thiago Olson, Chris Bartenstein and Henry Balanon and is based out of Ann Arbor, Michigan. The company is funded by Toba Capital Partners, Western Technology Investment, Resonant Venture Partners and Hyde Park Venture Partners. For more information, visit stratoscard.com. Connect with us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.