Mastercard study forecasts growth of mobile payments, wearables, biometrics

Mastercard has published new research exploring the growth of digital payments and other payment technologies, which found that 59 percent of respondents believe that mobile payments will be the next payment technology to take-off.

In addition, 47 percent of respondents think that wearable technology will be the next big payment technology, followed by biometrics such as facial recognition and fingerprints (42 percent).

The credit card giant surveyed over 1,000 New Zealanders for the annual study, which found that more than 90 percent of respondents choose cards as their main payment method.

The research found that cards are becoming increasingly popular as a preferred payment method, with over two-thirds of New Zealanders admitting to not carry cash.

“New Zealanders are embracing ways to pay that are fast, convenient and secure,” said Peter Chisnall, country manager for Mastercard’s New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. “Acceptance of card payments, and increasingly contactless payments, means New Zealanders are less reliant on cash for everyday transactions.”

The study also showed that half of New Zealanders don’t think we will be using cash in 10 years’ time, which is consistent with the survey’s 2016 findings.

Mastercard expects cash transactions to continue to decrease, with 41 percent of consumers stating they could live without cash and only use emerging payment technologies in just a few years’ time.

Forty-four percent of respondents believe New Zealand is on track to handle an exclusively card and digital wallet economy, but 38 percent of them said retailers need to do more to embrace new payment innovations.

“New Zealanders expect to see more emerging payment methods like mobile payments and biometrics in the near future – but there is more to do before they become mainstream,” Chisnall said. “Terminal upgrades and contactless enablement are helping consumers and retailers alike take advantage of new payment technology and consumer demand is only increasing.”

When shopping online, security remains the biggest concern (35 percent top concern), and 63 percent of people are looking for a safer online shopping experience.

Security concerns have drastically declined from last year’s survey results, which saw 60 percent of respondents listing it as their top concern.

Mastercard attributes this decline to the fact that people are more comfortable shopping online in their day-to-day lives. Two thirds of respondents said they shop online at least once a month.

The survey found that 10 percent of respondents have used a digital wallet such as Masterpass by Mastercard, or cloud-based wallet, when shopping online.

Mastercard is an industry partner of the Kiwibank FinTech Accelerator, powered by Lightning Lab, a three month program to provide start-ups with the tools they need to succeed.

Through the program, eight teams of entrepreneurs are given a platform to transform their financial technology ideas into real businesses, where Mastercard and other industry partners provide guidance to test their concepts, help them compete on a global scale.

In April, Mastercard unveiled its biometric card, which combines chip technology with fingerprints to seamlessly and safely verify cardholder’s identity for in-store purchases.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  facial recognition  |  fingerprint biometrics  |  Mastercard  |  Mobile Payments  |  wearables