Visa survey | Filipinos and retailers see benefits in contactless payments as usage rises

Visa Consumer Payment Attitudes Study 2015 reveals Filipinos’ increasing usage and interest in contactless payments, and opportunity for retail sector growth.

MANILA, 13 November 2015 – More Filipinos are using contactless payments, according to the Visa Consumer Payment Attitudes Study 2015. The study revealed that three out of 10 Filipinos (29 percent) have completed transactions using contactless payments over the past year, compared to only 21 percent in 2014.

Cardholders cited the convenience of cashless transactions, security and ease of use among the many reasons for using contactless payments.

The Visa Consumer Payment Attitudes Study 2015 identifies trends in payments behavior and openness to using contactless payments among consumers in six Southeast Asian markets including the Philippines. Contactless payments are conducted by simply waving one’s credit card, debit card, or smart phone over a point of sale (PoS) terminal, eliminating the need for cash, personal identification number (PIN), or signature for transactions under PHP2,000.

“The study reveals that as more Filipinos learn about the convenience, security and speed contactless payments, such as Visa payWave, bring to their everyday lives, they are more willing to use them on a regular basis,” said Stuart Tomlinson, Visa Country Manager for the Philippines and Guam.

Filipinos’ awareness for contactless payments is on the rise from 62 percent in 2014 to 66 percent in 2015. More awareness led to usage, which has grown from 21 percent last year to 29 percent this year.

Filipinos see many benefits to using contactless payments. Nearly eight in every ten respondents (78 percent) said that contactless payments help them save time (up from 58 percent in 2014). A further 78 percent said they eliminate the need to carry cash (up from 58 percent in 2014). More than half of respondents (55 percent) said contactless payments are easier to use than cash (a big leap from 9 percent in 2014.

This year’s study also revealed that Filipinos recognize new benefits of contactless payments such as being of less hassle to use (41 percent), being safer (36 percent), frees them from queueing (34 percent), and provides them a more enjoyable shopping experience (22 percent).

Contactless payments mainly used for groceries and food and beverage

At least a fifth of the respondents said that their top expenditures when using contactless payments are groceries (57 percent), food and beverage (37 percent), fashion and accessories (28 percent), beauty and cosmetics products (27 percent), health and wellness services (25 percent), movie tickets (23 percent), and household electronics (22 percent). More women consumers revealed that they purchase products and services in all these categories than men.

Other expenditures made with contactless payments are books, CDs, and DVDs (18 percent), personal electronics (18 percent), financial services (17 percent), events and concerts (10 percent), and ground transportation (8 percent) where men lead women consumers in terms of patronage.

Opportunity for local retailers to convert interest to usage

The availability of contactless payment options also broadens the appeal of the retailers visited. The majority of the respondents (80 percent) revealed that they prefer to purchase products and services from retailers that facilitate contactless payments over those that do not.

People have also shown strong appetite in using other forms of contactless payments, namely wearables such as a smart watch and wristband, as well as key fob. This year, 84 percent said they would be interested to pay with contactless wearables. Women were shown to have the strongest desire to use wearables to make payments for groceries (67 percent), while men would like to use them for food and drink purchases (62 percent).

Security is also important to users. Contactless cards have multiple layers of security including EMV chip technology, dynamic encryption, and operate over a short read range making cards virtually impossible to compromise.  Visa and financial institutions also monitor transactions to identify suspicious and unusual transactions.

“The study not only presented Filipinos’ payment trends and behavior but also gave us a preview of the future of retail and commerce. Given an increase in awareness, usage and openness to contactless payments among Filipinos over the past year, there is an immense opportunity for businesses to grow their market share by adopting contactless payments to accommodate rising consumer demand,” Tomlinson concluded.