Consumers embrace tap-and-go payments in pandemic’s wake

Ninety-one percent of Asia-Pacific consumers and 79 percent of people globally say they are now using tap-and-go payments, according to a survey by credit card firm Mastercard.

Polling by the firm, which focused on shifting consumer behaviors in 19 countries, shows accelerated and sustained adoption of contactless payments globally in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

The survey identified concerns among consumers about point-of-sale cleanliness and safety as being a prompt for tap-and-go contactless payments, with 46 percent of respondents internationally and 51 percent of Asia-Pacific respondents swapping their top-of-wallet cards for one offering a contactless feature.

“Contactless is here to stay,” the firm said in a statement. “We are in a sustained period where consumers are making purchases in a very focused way. That’s reinforcing contactless use in markets where adoption is more mature and it’s stimulating use in newer markets. This trend appears to be here to stay as 74 percent of people globally and 75 percent in Asia Pacific state they will continue to use tap-and-go after the pandemic is over.”

Meanwhile, a separate study by AksjeBloggen predicts the global digital-payments market, in general, will reach US$6.7 trillion in value by 2023, as usage continues to rise to an estimated 6.1 billion people. Digital payments worldwide are currently valued at $4.7 trillion.

The survey revealed that online buying and selling of goods and services would remain the largest revenue stream of the global digital-payments industry in the coming years, reaching $4.5 trillion transaction value in 2023. China is the world’s largest digital-payments market, with an estimated $1.9 trillion transaction value this year.