One in four customers that own an Apple Pay compatible device use the software to pay for goods and services, a report from eDigitalResearch has found.
How we pay for items is changing
The contactless payments landscape in the UK is changing. At the beginning of September, the spending limit on digital devices rose from £20 to £30, an event which prompted industry insiders to predict an increase in contactless spending.
Contactless payments are already proving popular in Britain, with the UK Cards Association finding that customers spent £2.5 billion using an electronic device during the first half of 2015.
It seems to be that Apple Pay is one of the more popular ways for UK customers to contactlessly pay for items.
According to its latest Contactless Payment Index results in which over 2,000 consumers were surveyed, eDigitalResearch found that 40 per cent of Apple users have paid for items using its payment service since the technology came to the UK in July.
The survey also raised the question about the future of contactless payments. The research company found that 15 per cent of respondents feel that the introduction of Apple Pay will increase the amount of contactless payments that they make.
‘‘Contactless payment services are growing – as demonstrated by our latest research results,’’ explained Steve Brockway, Chief Operating Officer at eDigitalResearch.
‘A lack of awareness’
There are still a number of issues that threaten the success of Apple Pay within the United Kingdom.
Retailers and merchants need to do more to show consumers that they accept Apple Pay, with 75 per cent of the survey failing to become aware of any Apple Pay points or symbols before. Brockway points out another stumbling block for Apple Pay.
‘‘While UK shoppers are becoming more familiar with various forms of contactless payment the difficulties banks and technology providers now face is a lack of awareness; just under half (46%) of respondents said they do not understand how Apple Pay works,’’ continued Brockway.
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