
Read more on from the payments market:
- Android Pay now live in UK with Starbucks and Deliveroo signed up as reward partners
- Time for SMEs to rethink payment acceptance strategies
- British businesses respond to UK launch of disruptive retail channel Apple Pay
Slightly more popular with this age group was the contactless card, with around 15?per cent?saying they used it every day and 17?per cent?believing they?d still use it in 2026 ? but overall only a meagre 2.3?per cent?of those surveyed thought contactless was the most secure payments option. This compares to over half who selected cash.
Part of the reason for the low uptake may have been the limited access to the technology but now Android Pay is live and Samsung is on the way, this should soon change. This means mobile pay technologists need to start addressing the prevalence of security-related concerns that exist. According to our data, 97?per cent?of Britons believe tech-based payment options are not secure. Many consumers worry that criminals target contactless for an easy and quick payday and that the security for mobile-pay does not enjoy the same level of security as traditional chip-and-pin. This insecurity is no doubt augmented by the fact the most cash-free society in Europe ? Sweden ? has allegedly experienced a two-fold increase in financial crime in the last decade, begging the question as to whether this is related to the fact that four out of five of their transactions are now made electronically. There are many more payment options available today. The number of options have increased and as technologies come-of-age our spending habits will almost certainly change. For businesses, the shifting relationship consumers have with payments is an opportunity. Mobile options, for instance, will allow businesses to understand their customers better through the accumulation of data. They could track trends and inventory, helping with the creation of more-appealing, better-integrated incentive programmes. Furthermore, cashless transactions could help businesses with speedier checkouts (a phenomenon already seen with contactless). On the other hand, issues such as credit transaction costs on small payments and security may mean businesses are just as tentative as their customers. Fledgling digital infrastructure may take time to mature and money to implement, but there is no doubt that we are increasingly hybrid spenders. Cash and cashless payments play different roles in the way people and businesses budget, save, and spend. Overall, it?s important to recognise that cash is still the transaction method of choice for more than half of consumers (52?per cent) and we are still seeing a rise in the number of ATM cash withdrawals across the UK (LINK?s network saw an all-time record of ?128bn worth of withdrawals out of its 70,000 ATMS in 2015). Alternatives will play a key role in the future. They are already making waves in the payment industry and the battle between card, contactless and mobile is only just beginning. But cash will also be there. Stalwart. Convenient. Safe. Ewan Ogilvie is MD of European ATM provider YourCash EuropeThese are the 11 UK cities where your business risks losses by snubbing cashless consumers.
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