New payment methods see Covid pandemic surge in popularity
New research from emerchantpay reveals stark differences in UK attitudes to payments between generations, and also sheds light on the potential economic contribution of trends such as cryptocurrencies.
2,000 Brits were surveyed for this. PayPal was the preferred payment method online as chosen by 34%, rising to 46% of Gen X respondents and dropping to 24% of Gen Z.
When asked how people expect to pay online in five years’ time, 15% of Gen Z and 11% of Millennials thought digital wallets would be their go to method, with 10% respondents overall.
This means that by 2026, digital wallets will account for more than £11 billion in online spending.
Crypto also saw a rise in popularity with 4% of all age groups expecting to use it as a preferred payment method in five years’ time versus 1% today.
That could equate to as many as 2.68 million people nationally, or £4.4 billion in online payments being made in cryptocurrency in the UK annually, by 2026.
By comparison, the top three most popular methods today (PayPal, debit cards and credit cards), are all set to decrease in popularity with debit cards dropping the most, from 33% today, to 28% in five years’ time.
Buy now pay later was another popular option, with 37% saying the service encouraged them to buy.
Younger generations were more likely to be encouraged to buy through BNPL, with 45% of Gen Z and 46% of Millennials. By contrast, only 31% Gen X were encouraged to buy and 12% Baby Boomers.
Of those who were more likely to return to the high street following the pandemic, 50% said that BNPL would be a driving force when purchasing items.
Angus Burrell, SVP Retail, emerchantpay, says: “These findings paint a clear picture of a future generation of consumers, much more acquainted with new payment methods than their parents and grandparents.”
“Today’s commerce environment is evolving faster than ever and businesses must keep up.”
“With so much competition online and, as we’ve seen from previous report chapters, speed and efficiency playing such an important role in encouraging people to buy, the payment methods that merchants offer can mean the difference between sale or fail.”
