MasterCard: Consumers primed for the next generation of payments
The fourth annual mobile payments study of social media posts by the card giant shows that consumers are embracing digital payments and biometrics.
The fourth annual mobile payments study of social media posts by the card giant shows that consumers are embracing digital payments and biometrics.
Consumers are embracing the next generation of payments and digital payments to extend beyond mobile phones as the use of connected devices grows, reports MasterCard.
In its fourth annual MasterCard Mobile Payments Study, conducted by Prime Research, the card payments giant tracked two million global social media posts about mobile payments across Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Forums, Google+, and YouTube – a sharp increase from the 85,000 posts tracked in 2012.
In addition to increased interest, the study found that for the third consecutive year there was highly positive sentiment about mobile payments technology. MasterCard says that cardholders are requesting ready-to-use mobile payments options from banks and retailers.
“As more choices are made available to them, the conversation has evolved and consumers seem to be fully embracing the next generation of payments,” said Marcy Cohen, vice president of digital communications at MasterCard.
The study found that digital wallets dominated 97% of mobile payments conversations held on social media in 2015. A regional breakdown showed year-on-year (YoY) increases ranging from 20% in Latin America and the Caribbean to 519% in North America, with Asia Pacific up 159%, Europe 144% and the Middle East and Africa 111%.
The end of passwords and biometrics were among the most engaging topics, MasterCard said, with fingerprint and electrocardiogram payments-related technology becoming an engaging topic for users throughout the year. Facial recognition, aka Selfie Pay, accounted for 55% of biometrics-focused conversation.
Outside of digital wallet discussions, contactless cards featured in 47% of conversations, followed by biometrics (33%), personal payments (14%) and wearables (6%).