MUMBAI, INDIA: KPMG, the audit, tax and advisory services firm, released the fourth edition of 'Consumers & Convergence Report 2010' in Mumbai on Thursday.

The report examined about 5600 consumers across 22 countries and tracked their technology usage patterns such as mobile phones, mobile payments and banking, personal computers and cloud computing services. About 300 Indian consumers belonging to the top income group were surveyed.

Despite the concerns over privacy and data security, consumers in Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) are actively embracing mobile networks as their de facto telecommunications standard, the report said.

According to the study, consumers in India and China are leading the drive for personal banking and retail transactions via their mobile phones. About 38 per cent Indian users agreed that they have made purchases over mobile devices – 8 per cent rise from 2008.

About 43 per cent surveyed Indians have used mobile devices for banking in 2010, against just 3 per cent in 2008.

“Of those surveyed in India, 5 per cent respondents conduct banking through a mobile device almost daily while 10 per cent do so weekly. 43 per cent of those surveyed said that they have done banking through their mobile device at some point,” says Jehil Thakkar, KPMG’s executive director for Media and Entertainment in India.

“This number was significant when compared to our last survey that used data of 2008. These results clearly indicate that mobile banking is being rapidly embraced by the Indian consumer,” adds Thakkar.

Globally, the mobile banking usage by consumers have increased to 46 per cent from 19 per cent in past 18 months and about 28 per cent have used it to buy goods and services, according to the study.

Respondents from BRIC nations have demonstrated greater willingness to pay for both online and mobile content, compared to G7 or global users, including content like news and information. The survey found they would also consider switching Internet service providers for exclusive content.

According to the survey, consumers, particularly in Asia Pacific, are increasingly adopting a variety of mobile and cloud-computing applications. They are also more willing to use their mobile phones for financial transactions as well as receiving ads in return for cheaper basic services.

Interestingly, the study points out that consumers have a paradoxical view of privacy. About 78 per cent Indian consumers are concerned of unauthorized access to Personally Identifiable Information (PII). However, 65 per cent are willing to allow their online usage and profile information to be tracked if it results in lower costs. While, half of the online consumers and nearly 4 in 10 mobile device users in India say they will accept advertisements in exchange for free or bargain pricing of services and content, the study suggests.

Moreover, two thirds of all individuals surveyed, currently use cloud services for applications such as email, photo sharing and video sharing. The results for India are higher with as many as 88 per cent respondents have agreed that they use cloud computing services