Barclays says that over 80% of the British public now recognize the symbol for contactless payments when displayed at retail outlets. The bank has been running contactless payment trials for several years, and these payments now account for more than 1 million transactions per month.
According to bank’s research, 61% of people prefer using cards over cash to buy items up to 20 GBP. Security remains a hurdle for the adoption of contactless payments, with customers perceiving that the technology isn’t safe. Heck, 75% of respondents didn’t know that contactless payment (like all card payments) are insured against fraud. However, when told that this was the case, over 40% said they would be more inclined to use the technology with fewer than one in ten still having concerns.
Donna Dawson, a behavioral psychologist commented on these findings: “There are connected issues at work – habit and fear. We’ve been using coins since 600BC, which is a tough habit to break. Because of this, different ways to pay have the shock of the ‘new’, and if we have no experience of something, we fear it. Increased recognition leads to a significant trend developing, and represents the breakthrough of a psychological barrier. So the fact that we’re witnessing this with a technology which is only five years old compared to centuries of cash is remarkable.”
[Via: CellularNews]