Researchers find biometrics a popular choice for security-conscious shoppers

New research from WorldPay suggests paying for goods and services through fingerprint, palm and iris scanners is the most popular future technology choice for security-conscious shoppers.

Specifically, 1 in 2 people surveyed said they would like to have biometric payment options, far outweighing the popularity of emerging mobile options. 30% would like to use PIN-based smartphone payments, 25% online wallets and 23% said SMS payments were ideal. The researchers also asked about the peculiar option of paying through social media, but that was unsurprisingly, the least popular, with only 12% of respondents saying they’d use it.

The research examined the public’s attitudes and usage of emerging payment technologies, with a particular focus on smartphones.

The researchers also found that 1 in 5 people have already made a payment through a smartphone, though research and in-store reporting still reign supreme for usage.  Forty-five percent use smartphones for ‘show-rooming’ (choosing to browse in-store, and shop online later), 45% to check prices, 31% to comment on their shopping experience via social media and 28% to download vouchers and coupons.

“Retailers can help drive mass adoption of new payment technologies by challenging existing shopping behaviours and most importantly, making a compelling case for new payment methods that consumers will understand and buy into,” Ron Khalifa, Deputy Chairman at WorldPay said.

“It’s interesting to see the public considering options such as biometric payments, a science that they may have seen in sci-fi films or on TV, which suggests familiarity and visibility of new payment technologies is crucial in moving usage from tech savvy enthusiasts to the wider public. Our research showed that 3 in 4 of us shop on auto pilot using cash, card and by paying online, so the industry needs to take greater steps to challenge these behaviours. Additionally, more needs to be done to ensure that ongoing implementation support is provided to retailers, and that staff are educated on new technologies.”

Article Topics

biometric payments  |  fingerprint  |  point-of-sale  |  research  |  smartphone  |  WorldPay