OdysseasPapadimitriou, CEO of the credit card comparison websiteCardHub.com and a personal finance consultant. predicted thatlarge credit card issuers will likely make more credit available in2013 and that consumers will not rush to sign on to any of thelatest mobile wallet technologies.

“There was a lot of buzz surrounding mobile wallets in 2012, andwhile consumers might be excited about this new technology and theprospect of having one less item to carry around, widespreadadoption isn't going to happen in 2013,” he said.

 “There are just too many factors conspiring againstit. From lingering security concerns to market fragmentation andunsatisfied infrastructure requirements, there are a number ofpretty big dominoes that need to fall first.”

He also noted that one of the most often cited reasons for whyconsumers would demand mobile wallets, ease of managing manydifferent card and card accounts, had also diminished significantlysince the economic downturn and subsequent creditcrunch. 

“The era when many Americans had 8, 9, 12 card accounts haspassed,” he said. “Many Americans, if they have more than twoaccounts, only have two they actively use and they might have someothers that they leave at home because they are paying themoff.”

He explained that he was not necessarily against mobile walletsor opposed to new payment technologies. But he added that consumersneed to have a compelling reason to move from one payment system toanother, and he had not seen anything in mobile wallets that madethem so much better that a consumer would want to switch.

But if consumers run counter to his predictions and do acceptmobile wallets, they may also have an easier time obtaining moneyto put in them, according to Papadimitriou's additional predictionof greater credit availability.

“The $43.5 billion in credit card debt we project U.S. consumerswill ultimately incur in 2012 is a clear sign that credit is easierto come by than in 2011,” Papadimitriou commented. “As the economycontinues to improve and unemployment falls, this trend willcontinue. Hopefully we can leave the debt in the past, though.Balance transfer credit cards, credit card calculators, securedcards, and good old fashioned budgeting can all make spendingwithin your means significantly easier.”

He pointed to prepaid cards, particularly reloadable cards suchas the Bluebird card from Walmart and American Express, as thebiggest new tool consumers could use to help control that spending,and he urged both banks and credit unions to take the competitionto their retail banking operations seriously.

“I don't think Bluebird would put banks or credit unions out ofbusiness,” he said, “but it very well might steal an importantrelationship and marketing channel away from them.”

By contrast he said Bluebird threatens to put check-cashers outof business.

“Anyone familiar with check cashing stores knows how costly theytend to be,” he said. “Historically, unbanked consumers had togrin-and-bear-it with high fees because that was the price ofhaving no other options when it came to collecting a paycheck.However, a number of low-cost prepaid cards enable consumers toload checks directly using ATMs or mobile banking applications andtherefore serve as the death knell for check cashing businesses orat least their traditional fee structures.” 

He also pointed out that the CARD Act, which predated the mostrecent round of financial regulatory reform, had helped create amore transparent atmosphere for the card industry.

“Transparency was a major issue in the credit card market priorto and during the Great Recession, but the CARD Act eliminated manyof the ills that pervaded the space,” he said. 

“The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has put credit bureausand debt collectors under the microscope already, and you can counton prepaid cards and checking accounts getting some attention inthe near future. This regulatory scrutiny will be nothing butbeneficial for consumers.”