Consumers see contactless as a stepping stone to
mobile payments
2012 set to be the tipping point for mainstream
contactless adoption
London, 22 December 2011 - Visa Europe today
launched its second quarterly Contactless Barometer study. The
Barometer canvassed perceptions of contactless technologies across
the UK, Poland and Turkey, based on surveys of 1,700 banked
individuals and in-depth panel sessions with around 500 contactless
card owners per market.
The study shows that contactless owners value the convenience
and ease of contactless payments, but suggests that the current
relatively low acceptance levels in some markets is still
preventing usage from becoming an every day habit.
Consumers envision a contactless future across cards and
mobile
Seventy seven per cent of contactless owners across all three
markets agreed or strongly agreed that contactless technology would
ultimately become more commonplace than cash as a payment method
(UK: 73%, Poland: 79%, Turkey: 79%). Eighty seven per cent also
agreed that contactless will be instrumental in bringing mobile
contactless payments to market in the near future (UK: 84%, Poland:
89%, Turkey: 89%).
Mark Austin, Head of Contactless for Visa Europe said: "People
with experience of contactless cards are starting to see it as the
first step to the arrival of mobile payments. The tipping point to
more mainstream acceptance will be availability: the more chance
consumers have to use their contactless cards, the more
enthusiastic their response becomes. For us, London 2012 will be a
major tipping point in the UK, with thousands of new contactless
terminals installed across the Olympic venues to make payments as
easy and convenient as they can possibly be."
Major retailer rollouts drive significant usage
increase
The proportion of contactless owners who cite the availability
of contactless Point of Sale (PoS) terminals as a preventative to
usage has increased (34% of UK contactless users vs. 23% the
previous quarter). Where acceptance has increased, usage has grown
significantly. For example, as a result of McDonald’s nationwide
rollout of contactless terminals in the UK, 32% of UK card owners
have now used their contactless card to pay for fast food, compared
to just 12% in the previous quarter.
Banks and retailers hold the key to further increasing
contactless awareness
The research also provides insight into the role that banks and
retailers can play in further stimulating consumer adoption of
contactless payments.
Communication received from the bank either before or after
receipt of a contactless card plays a vital role in driving
understanding and awareness of the new service among contactless
cardholders (UK: 46%, Poland: 55%, Turkey: 38%), while external
communications like TV and poster advertising is also cited by
respondents as important (UK: 14%, Poland: 12%, Turkey: 15%).
Collateral at the Point of Sale also plays its part in reminding
consumers where they can use contactless payments (UK: 13%, Poland:
8%, Turkey 17%).
The research also suggested that incentives to use the
technology would also be of interest once contactless
infrastructure reaches critical mass (UK: 39%, Poland: 48%, Turkey:
34%).
Austin added: "With the number of contactless cards in
circulation in the UK forecast to top thirty million by the end of
next year and London 2012 set to showcase how the technology offers
added convenience, the next twelve months provide an opportunity
for the industry to capitalise on contactless payments and further
connect with consumers."
About the Contactless Barometer
Visa Europe’s Contactless Barometer is a benchmark study looking
at consumer attitudes to new payment methods, developed from
external consumer research.
The Contactless Barometer consists of two surveys:
1. An offline omnibus survey amongst roughly 1,700 banked
consumers per market. The omnibus survey measures awareness and
usage of contactless cards amongst a nationally representative
sample of the overall banked population
2. An in-depth Contactless owner survey carried out amongst an
online panel of roughly 500 contactless card owners per market. The
Contactless survey delivers an in-depth understanding of behaviour,
attitudes and usage amongst owners of contactless cards (users and
non-users)
Two waves of the Contactless barometer have been conducted thus
far:
- Wave 1 was conducted in March 2011
- Wave 2 was conducted in September 2011
About Visa Europe
There are currently over 26 million contactless Visa cards
across Europe, distributed by 54 different issuing banks, with over
175,000 contactless terminals. 17 million of these cards and 75,000
of these terminals are within the UK. Monthly contactless spend in
the UK has tripled since the start of 2011, with total contactless
spend across Europe almost quadrupling in the same period. By the
end of the year there will be 30 million contactless Visa cards in
circulation across Europe, with 50 million expected by the end of
2012.
Visa Europe is owned and operated by more than 4,000 European
member banks and was incorporated in July 2004. In October 2007,
Visa Europe became independent of the new global Visa Inc., with an
exclusive, irrevocable and perpetual licence in Europe. As a
dedicated European payment system it is able to respond quickly to
the specific market needs of European banks and their customers -
cardholders and retailers - and to meet the European Commission’s
objective to create a true internal market for payments.
Visa enjoys unsurpassed acceptance around the world. In
addition, Visa/PLUS is one of the world’s largest global ATM
networks, offering cash access in local currency in over 200
countries.
For more information, visit http://www.visaeurope.com/