More than 9 in 10 will consider biometrics and new payment technologies: Mastercard report

Support for digital payments with biometrics and other newer technologies has reached a high-water mark, with 93 percent of consumers telling the Mastercard New Payments Index they will consider using such technologies in the next year.

Just over half of consumers consider biometric retail payments secure (53 percent), while 6 in 10 are interested in using gait recognition or fingerprint biometrics, and 60 percent feel safer using biometrics for a purchase than a PIN.

A billion more contactless transactions were processed by Mastercard during Q1 2021 than in the same period a year earlier, with major gains in the U.S. and Brazil. The report also suggests 7 out of 10 consumers plan to use a contactless card this year. QR codes and cryptocurrency are among other emerging payment trends identified by Mastercard.

A lot of the change is attributable to the pandemic, Mastercard, says, as 63 percent say they have tried a new payment method that they would not under normal circumstances.

“The pandemic made us think differently, partly out of necessity,” says Mastercard Chief Product Officer Craig Vosburg. “To deliver the choice and flexibility that consumers need – and increasingly expect –retailers worldwide need to offer a range of payment solutions that are easy to access and always on. As we look ahead, we need to continue to enable all choices, both in-store and online, to shape the fabric of commerce and make the digital economy work for everyone.”

Merchants should also expect to be pressured by their customers to adopt new payment methods, as a large majority express a preference for shopping at stores that also have an on-line presence, and 68 percent say they are more excited by shopping at a retailer supporting the latest payment methods.

Digital wallets coming, but biometric payment cards next method of choice, TietoEVRY says

TietoEVRY notes that despite the dramatic growth in digital wallets and account-to-account payments, contactless payment cards remain the most popular payment method in Europe, and with the introduction of fingerprint biometrics to the form factor, they are set to remain so for some time.

The blog post by TietoEVRY Head of Sales for UK and Ireland Steve Warner points out that while NFC World has reported that the number of digital wallets in use are expected to reach 4 billion by 2024, the Nilsson Report 2021 says there will be over 22 billion payment cards this year, growing by 4 percent per year.

Warner urges banks not to skip the current opportunity of biometric payment cards in their rush to address future digital wallet use.

Article Topics

biometric cards  |  biometric payments  |  biometrics  |  consumer adoption  |  contactless biometrics  |  fraud prevention  |  Mastercard  |  mobile app  |  secure transactions  |  TietoEVRY