ContactlessNews | Report: Middle East, Poland keenest on contactless payments

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

New research commissioned by First Data shows that Poland and the Middle East are more enthusiastic about contactless and mobile payments than UK/Ireland, Australia and Germany.

According to the report, “Payment Methods: What Do International Consumers Want, Need and Expect?” contactless payment card ownership is still “very low” in all five countries/regions, despite being available for several years. However, if given a contactless card, 70% of customers in the Middle East and 57% in Poland said they would use it, while only 31% in Germany and 26% in UK/Ireland responded favorably.

When asked what it would take to get them to start using the new technology, 70% suggested they would consider making contactless payments once it is accepted by at least 40% of merchants.

The likelihood of using a mobile device to make payments is highest in the Middle East (58%), followed by Poland (51%). Again, a much smaller share of consumers in UK/Ireland (25%) and Germany (30%) favor the new technology.

According to First Data, security concerns remain a barrier to adoption across the board with respondents most fearful of payment information being compromised (68%) and losing their mobile phone (64%).

Consumers in all markets expressed interest in using a mobile wallet and mobile apps to not only pay for products but also for everyday transactions, such as transit and memberships. Nearly a third of Polish consumers said they would like to use a mobile wallet right now, while the other countries/regions indicated they would wait until it’s widely used (Germany 60%, Middle East 74%, Poland 61%, UK/Ireland 51%).

The survey also found that banks are the preferred provider for mobile wallet. More than half of all international consumers would choose their bank as their mobile wallet provider, followed by PayPal, which was chosen by just 12% of respondents. Similar to contactless cards, security concerns remain a barrier with nearly three quarters of consumers fearing their payment information would be compromised or that they would lose their phone.

Click here to download the report.

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