72 percent of Brits worry about risks associated with contactless payments

The findings revealed that 43% of survey-takers feel more at risk when paying for items and services on their smartphone compared to 2015. Brits are most worried about having their financial data stolen by hackers, with 29%admitting this as their biggest fear when using the technology, closely followed by identity theft and not knowing where their data goes.

Despite these fears, 45% admitted they do not take more precautions to protect the data on their smartphones from potential hackers now compared to a year ago.

Other findings from the research reveal that nearly 1 in 5 Brits fear their identity could be stolen by hackers when paying for goods using their smartphone. The biggest concern for the younger generation (aged 18-24) was where their data actually goes, with 15% of them saying this was their biggest fear.

The older generation, however, cited their personal details (their financial data or identity) being hacked as their biggest worry when paying for things using their smartphone The older generation were more likely to take more precautions, with 66% admitting they now take more precautions today than compared to a year ago.

In response to these findings, Jose Diaz, director of payment strategy at Thales e-Security said the mobile payments industry needs to take note that their future success is based on trust, and trust can easily fail if they do not provide the strong protection of their infrastructure, transactions and data.