Contactless payment now first choice for 19 million people

• UK adults are now more likely to use contactless payments than cash for purchases of £30 or under;
• 40 million (77%) people have made a contactless payment in the last 12 months;
• Fear of fraud is the main reason for people not using contactless;
• 18% of adults say they still haven’t been given a contactless card by their bank

Most (77%) UK adults have made a contactless payment in the last year, with over 19 million (37%) now saying contactless is their first-choice payment method for purchases under £30, according to new research*, commissioned by GoCompare Money.

The research reveals that 77% of people (40 million) have made a contactless payment in the last 12 months.**  Slightly surprisingly, it is the 35 to 54 age group who are largely driving the payment revolution as they are currently the most likely to favour contactless over other forms of payment. 

The survey also revealed what methods were most popular, with contactless cards (75%) topping the list, while other methods including smartphones, key fobs and wearable technology such as watches and wristbands were used by 13% of people.  

73% of people claim convenience is the main reason for using contactless payments.  Other reasons given include a dislike of carrying cash (19%) and, using chip and PIN cards.  One in ten contactless payment users admitted to finding it difficult to remember their PINs and passwords while 13% said they don’t like having to input PINs or card details when making a purchase.  17% of people favour contactless payments because it means they always have a way of paying for items. 

Fewer than a quarter (23%) of people taking part in the research hadn’t made a contactless payment in the last 12 months, many of whom are worried about the risk of fraud (54%).  Fear of the unknown also appears to put some of these people off; 37% found the whole idea of going contactless scary, while 29% consider contactless smartphone payments intimidating.  One in ten were concerned contactless payments would make them lose track of their spending. 

However, for some people (18%) it was a straightforward case where they hadn’t been provided with a contactless enabled card from their bank or credit card supplier.

Commenting on the research, Martyn John, from GoCompare Money said, “From cash to cards, smartphones to wearable devices – we’ve never had greater choice in the way we can pay.  In the last decade, contactless payment technology has transformed the way we make payments, so much so, many people don’t feel the need to carry cash. 

Martyn continued, “While contactless payments are now the norm for many people, the fear of fraud remains a big issue for some, but there are simple steps people can take to protect themselves against contactless fraud:

1. Keep your contactless card safe and in sight, this will help guard against misuse.
2. Make sure the PIN protecting your card, smartphone or other payment device is strong and secure and, never use the same PIN to unlock your smartphone and to verify contactless payments.
3. Regularly check the transactions on your bank statements – this will help you to spot any fraudulent activity on your account, contactless or otherwise. Checking your statements will also help you keep track of your spending.

 For more information on contactless payments visit: https://www.gocompare.com/credit-cards/contactless-payments/

-Ends-

For further information please contact:

Anders Nilsson or Martyn John or Louisa Marsden at GoCompare on 01633 654 054 / 01633 654 725 / 01633 655132

Gordon, Jason or Liz at MAW Communications on 01603 505 845

Keep up-to-date with GoCompare on Twitter; @GoCompare

Notes to editors

On 20 July 2018, Bilendi conducted an online survey among 2,004 randomly selected British adults who are Maximiles UK panelists.  The margin of error-which measures sampling variability-is +/- 2.2%. The results have been statistically weighted according to the most current education, age, gender and regional data to ensure samples representative of the entire adult population of United Kingdom. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.

* 19 million figure is based on the following: according to the research, 37% of people say their 1st choice payment method for a purchase under £30 would be contactless. The number of UK adults 18 and over is 51,767,543 (ONS June 2017 Population estimates for UK England & Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland).  37% of 51,767,543 = 19,153,992.

**40 million figure is based on the following: according to the research, 77% have made a contactless transaction in the last 12 months (77% of 51,767,543 = 39,861,008). Therefore, 39.9 million people have made a contactless payment in the last 12 months.

About GoCompare

GoCompare is a comparison website that enables people to compare the costs and features of a wide variety of insurance policies, financial products and energy tariffs.

GoCompare does not charge people to use its services, and it does not accept advertising or sponsored listings, so all product comparisons are unbiased. Gocompare makes its money through fees paid by the providers of products that appear on its various comparison services when a customer buys through the site.

GoCompare does not sell its customers’ data.

When it launched in 2006, it was the first comparison site to focus on displaying policy details rather than just listing prices, with the aim of helping people to make better-informed decisions when buying their insurance. GoCompare has remained dedicated to helping people choose the most appropriate products rather than just the cheapest, and has teamed up with Defaqto, the independent financial researcher, to integrate additional policy information into a number of its insurance comparison services. This allows people to compare up to an extra 30 features of cover.

GoCompare is the only comparison website to be invited to join the British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA) and is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

For more information visit www.gocompare.com and www.gocomparegroup.com