MasterCard survey reveals that majority of Americans trust new payment technologies

MasterCard announced that it has published the “Emotion of Safety & Security Survey”, conducted by Braun Research, which finds that 67 percent of Americans have heard of biometric payment solutions and 82 percent have heard of contactless or tap-and-go payments.

Braun Research conducted the phone survey from May 8-12 among 1,000 general population consumers 18 years of age and older within the United States.

The survey also found that 77 percent of Americans are anxious about their financial information and social security numbers being stolen or compromised, while 62 percent are concerned about having their email hacked.

The results of the survey show that Americans are eager to take an active role in protecting their financial information, although few may realize how their everyday habits are putting them at risk.

Ninety-two percent of Americans say they take the necessary precautions to protect their financial information, while 46 percent rarely or never change passwords for online financial accounts.

Additionally, 44 percent use the same password for multiple online accounts, and 39 percent say they have checked their financial data online on public networks.

Perhaps the survey’s greatest take away, in terms of the biometrics sector, is that consumers are ready to adopt new payment options. The survey finds that 69 percent of Americans use chip cards or plan to use them soon, while 56 percent currently use mobile digital payments via an app or website or plan to try it soon.

The survey finds that 83 percent of consumers are excited about new secure technologies helping protect their financial information while 77 percent feel there are more secure ways to pay than ever before.

Eighty-eight percent of respondents said they trust that their payment network is providing them with secure technologies to protect them from fraud, and 77 percent feel that new technologies in the payment sector are having an overall positive impact on personal security.

“Our survey reveals there’s a sharp contrast between what people say or think they are doing to protect their information and what they actually do, but that’s understandable – we’re human,” said Carolyn Balfany, SVP of US product delivery for EMV at MasterCard. “In today’s digital age, we need the strong combination of what we all can do ourselves to keep our information as safe as possible and what we are doing at MasterCard to bring the latest innovations in safety and security to our cardholders.”

Previously reported, MasterCard will launch a small pilot program this fall in which the credit card giant will start approving online purchases with fingerprints and facial scans, in an effort to reduce fraud.

Article Topics

biometric payment system  |  biometrics  |  fraud prevention  |  Mastercard  |  survey