It’s the beginning of a new normal. As countries around the world imposed social distancing measures in light of the global COVID-19 pandemic, many consumers have turned to contactless payments to make their necessary purchases.
According to the Mastercard global consumer survey, nearly eight in 10 people say they use contactless payments overall and for safety and convenience reasons specifically. In fact, more than 79% of people worldwide and 91% in Asia Pacific opted for tap-and-go payments!
Photo: Mastercard
Gone are the days where people would carry huge bulks of cash in their wallets to purchase their items as contactless cards becomes the top player in purchasing mediums. The survey done across 19 countries with more than 17,00 countries showed that over 46% respondents globally 51% in the Asia pacific have favored a contactless option for their top of wallet card as safe and convenient method of transaction.
The majority of respondents globally (82%) and in the Asia Pacific (80%) also view contactless as the cleaner way to pay. Contactless payments are up to 10 times faster than other in-person payment methods, enabling customers to get in and out of stores faster. In fact, the trend of using contactless is even here to stay, as 74% of people globally and 75% in Asia Pacific state they will continue to use contactless after the pandemic is over.
Photo: Mastercard
“Mastercard’s survey shows a clear shift to contactless – especially in Asia Pacific – as COVID-19 changes the payments landscape and the way people shop now and in the future,” said Sandeep Malhotra, Executive Vice President, Products & Innovation, Asia Pacific, Mastercard.
“The fact that 3 in 4 people intend to keep using tap-and-go after the pandemic is a strong sign that consumers see the long-term benefits of having a safer, cleaner way to pay, checking out faster and being more socially responsible.”
As consumers increasingly seek ways to get in and out of stores quickly without touching payment terminals, Mastercard data also reveals more than 40% growth in contactless transactions globally in the first quarter of 2020. Consumers mainly made perform these contactless transactions while purchasing day-to-day essentials at grocery stores and pharmacies where they have been significant spikes contactless payment usage in February and March. The majority (80%) of contactless transactions are under US$25, a range typically dominated by cash.
Now that we get an insight of how consumers behave especially during the Movement Control Order (MCO) what do you think is the future of shopping for consumers in the new normal?
By: Siti Farhana Sheikh Yahya
