81% of UK consumers interested in new digital payment methods – report

According to the report, 33 percent of smartphone owners in the UK have used them to shop online, 42 percent have used them for online banking while 43 percent of tablet owners in the UK have used them to shop online and 33 percent of tablet owners have used them for online banking.

Paul Stoddart, managing director, strategy and business development, VocaLink, has commented: “These figures demonstrate the opportunity to revolutionise the UK payments industry using portable devices to support the growing population of people who already transact digitally. Growth in use of these devices is exponentially faster than it was for services using fixed internet connections. Mobile payments have long been seen as the next revolution in payments. Yet despite the popularity of smartphones and tablets and a number of companies entering the space, no one payment method has as yet succeeded in achieving ubiquitous adoption. VocaLink has commissioned this research to find out what Britons really want from a next generation in payment services.”

Finally, the report has found that convenience and ease of use are important factors in encouraging consumers to adopt these new ways to pay. However security remains as important for new digital methods as well as existing payments methods.

The independent research was undertaken by research firm Accord on behalf of international payments company VocaLink.