Almost half of British consumers would consider using pre-paid or contactless payment cards in the future because of the convenience such technology would offer, a new report has found.
The survey of 1,000 British consumers by Ingenico found that while existing use of contactless payments is “relatively low” (13%) at present, 41% would consider trying it out.
Ingenico said the number of people prepared to use contactless and mobile handset payments instead of cash is likely to increase “dramatically” as more people become aware of the benefits of such technology.
Furthermore, the survey found that consumers were generally happy for the limit on contactless payments to be lifted from its current level of 10 ($14) to an average of 32.10.
Gregor Rankin of Ingenico said the results indicate that the adoption of mobile and contactless payments in the UK is likely to be “consumer-driven”.
“British shoppers want speed and convenience at the till and they see how these new payment methods meet their needs,” he commented.
Overall, Britons spent 32.3 billion on plastic in December, with 4.7 billion spent online, according to UK payments association Apacs.
D.C.