More Brits are using digital payment wallets but public sector is lagging

Digital payment platforms continue to rise in popularity in the UK, with many young Brits embracing digital wallets. But how is the country’s public sector preparing for the rise of online only?

Digital payments, digital IDs and fraud prevention are the three most important areas for the UK public sector when it comes to financial technology, according to a new survey examining awareness of AI and financial technologies among government employees.

Digital ID was the most familiar concept, with 153 out of 287 respondents stating they are familiar with the technology, said the survey, conducted by trade publication Global Government Fintech. Open banking and anti-fraud tech followed with 130 and 121 votes, respectively.

The research included respondents from British public servants working in central and local government, healthcare, higher education, finance and digitalization.

Almost half of the respondents said they were prepared to some extent for adopting and deploying financial technologies. However, nearly 15 percent said that they are not at all prepared, while more than a third said they did not know, showing that more education in the public sector may be necessary.

This may not be enough considering the pace of digital payment adoption in the UK.

More than half of UK adults carry a digital wallet on their smartphone or smartwatch when they leave their house. Although a large majority (83 percent) of adult Brits still own a physical wallet, less than half (48 percent) consider it essential for their day-to-day lives, according to research from ATM network Link Scheme.

Among the younger generation, only 38 percent see a physical wallet as a must-have, while 60 percent of Brits aged 18 to 24 say that a digital wallet is one of their “go-to” payment methods.

The survey was conducted by H/Advisors Cicero with a representative sample of more than 2,000 UK consumers.

Article Topics

consumer adoption  |  digital ID  |  digital payments  |  digital wallets  |  financial services  |  UK digital ID