New Year, New Habits: Contactless Payments Are Here to Stay, With Only 16% of Consumers Planning to Revert to Pre-Pandemic Wa...
January 13 2021 - 7:00AM
Business Wire
Third edition of global Visa study highlights
top areas of payment technology investment for small businesses in
2021
Study reveals 82% of SMBs have adopted new
digital technologies as more than half of consumers used
contactless payments whenever possible in the last three months
As the one-year mark of the Covid-19 pandemic approaches and
digital payments play a larger role in daily life around the world,
there will be no reverse gear on consumer behavior as we head into
2021. In the third edition of its global research study, the “Visa
Back to Business Study – 2021 Outlook,” Visa (NYSE: V) found that
the continued small and micro business (“SMB”) shift towards
digital commerce will evolve in the New Year and bring an increased
focus on areas such as security and fraud prevention, and more
emerging payment tools such as ‘buy now, pay later’ and mobile
payment acceptance.
According to the study, by the end of 2020, 82% of SMBs surveyed
had embraced new forms of digital technology to meet changing
consumer behaviors. Looking ahead to 2021, SMBs are assessing what
other payment technologies are critical to meeting today’s consumer
expectations, with results led by security and fraud management
software (47%), contactless or mobile payment acceptance (44%),
accepting payments via mobile device (41%), installments or ‘buy
now, pay later’ (36%) and digital backend payment operations
(31%).
“With greater hindsight into 2020, we can clearly see that the
digital payment experiences that exceled the most – contactless and
eCommerce – were driven out of necessity and have become more
habitual in people’s daily lives at a pace not often seen,” said
Kevin Phalen, global head of business solutions, Visa. “If 2020 was
the year of contactless and eCommerce, results of this study tell
us that 2021 will bring greater attention to security and fraud
prevention, and trial of more emerging digital commerce tools that
help businesses thrive.”
All markets surveyed have seen a rapid adoption of new payment
technologies and changing consumer behavior related to commerce.
Additional findings from the study in Brazil, Canada, Germany, Hong
Kong, Ireland, Russia, Singapore, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and
United States, highlight the depth of the impact in 2020 and
expectations for 2021:
The Road to Recovery for SMBs in
2021
- Contactless Payments Are Here To Stay: The global rise
of contactless payments in 2020, spurred by challenges including
consumers looking for safer ways to pay amidst the pandemic, is
showing no signs of slowing down in the New Year. In fact, in June
2020 only 20% of SMBs surveyed had offered contactless payments for
the first time — now, 39% report they have started to accept new
digital forms of payments. Nearly three in four (74%) SMBs expect
consumers to continue preferring contactless payments even after a
vaccine is widely available.
- SMBs Meet Consumers Where They Are: SMBs have steadily
increased their efforts to meet consumers where they are now:
online. Globally, 82% of SMB owners have made updates to their
operations to meet the increasing demand for digital payments, up
from 67% in summer 2020 when the first Visa Back to Business Study
was released.
- The Fight Against Fraud: Tech-savvy business owners
(52%) are more likely than their novice counterparts (39%) to
invest in security and fraud protection. Recognizing the
significance of and responding to a potential fraud attack will
continue to be a decided advantage in 2021 as the shift to digital
sales continues to increase. Despite concern, global fraud rates
remain at historic lows, at roughly $0.007 for every $1.001.
New Year Brings a New Era for Consumer
Habits
- Consumer Preference: Almost overnight, consumers put
Covid-19 safety measures at the top of their shopping lists,
igniting a rapid shift to touchless commerce. Two-thirds (65%) of
surveyed consumers would prefer to use contactless payments as much
as, or even more than, they are currently, and only 16% say they
would revert to their old methods of payments, post-pandemic.
- Safety-Conscious Shoppers: While the universal focus is
on mask use in stores, consumers are also eager to have payment
alternatives to handling cash, pens and keypads. 47% of consumers
say they will not shop at a store that does not offer a contactless
way to pay.
- At the Card Wash: Card cleanliness remains key for
consumers in the fight against the spread of Covid-19. More than
three in five (62%) are taking steps to keep their credit cards
clean; using disinfectant on their card is the top approach, at
31%.
Regional Insights: Making Moves to Meet
Consumers
- Pivoting to meet the new digital-first era: Nearly all
UAE SMBs (97%) and Hong Kong SMBs (96%) have adjusted the way they
operate in the past three months, compared to the global average of
82%. In June, just two in five Hong Kong SMBs (40%) were selling
products and services online. Now, nearly three in five (57%) are
selling more online, compared to the global average of 43%.
- Consumers are shopping digitally, and with an eye on
security and safety: Globally, 82% of consumers have taken some
additional action to protect themselves from fraud, with UAE the
most likely at 90%. Nearly all UAE consumers (96%, compared to 62%
globally) are also taking steps to keep their credit card clean,
making them the most likely of all markets surveyed to do so.
As the trusted engine of commerce, Visa will continue to
introduce new programs and resources that advance its commitment to
digitally enable 50 million SMBs. On the heels of Visa Street Teams
visiting more than 300,000 small businesses in 12 markets over the
course of 2020 to provide new point of sale branding, a virtual
version of this program—The Virtual Breakroom: Back to Business
Learning Series—can now offer every small business access to
tutorials on contactless payments, growing your business online and
digital marketing/reputation management.
More information on the programs Visa has made available to
small and micro businesses are available on the Visa Small Business
Hub and the Visa Small Business COVID-19 relief site.
Methodology: Visa Back to Business Study – 2021
Outlook
The Visa Back to Business Study was conducted by Wakefield
Research between November 13 and November 25, 2020, among 250 small
business owners at companies with 100 employees or fewer in Brazil,
Canada, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Russia, Singapore, UAE and
U.S. Separately, the consumer portion of the survey was conducted
by Wakefield Research between November 13 and November 25, 2020,
among 1,000 adults in the U.S., and 500 adults in Brazil, Canada,
Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Russia, Singapore and UAE. The data
was weighted to ensure an accurate representation of adults ages
18+ in each market.
About Visa Inc.
Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) is the world’s leader in digital payments.
Our mission is to connect the world through the most innovative,
reliable and secure payment network - enabling individuals,
businesses and economies to thrive. Our advanced global processing
network, VisaNet, provides secure and reliable payments around the
world, and is capable of handling more than 65,000 transaction
messages a second. The company’s relentless focus on innovation is
a catalyst for the rapid growth of digital commerce on any device,
for everyone, everywhere. As the world moves from analog to
digital, Visa is applying our brand, products, people, network and
scale to reshape the future of commerce. For more information,
visit About Visa, visa.com/blog and @VisaNews.
1 Based on Visa data from Jul 1, 2019 to Jun 30, 2020
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210113005274/en/
Kryssa Guntrum 415.805.4488 kguntrum@visa.com
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