69 percent of APAC consumers have increased their usage of at least one digital payment method during the same period, demonstrating momentum, a press release said Thursday.
In comparison, only 52 percent of consumers in North America and just 48 percent in Europe, (regions where consumers tend to be more guarded and cautious about emerging payment technologies) increased their usage in the same way,
The latest data on payment habits, attitudes and preferences was published Thursday in Mastercard’s second annual New Payments Index (NPI): a global consumer survey spanning 40 markets across five regions, including seven in APAC: Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Thailand and Vietnam.
While the COVID-19 pandemic was the catalyst for the unprecedented, rapid uptake of digital payments, the latest research indicates that the change has been lasting, with 40 percent of survey respondents in APAC cutting back on their use of cash in the last year. Despite this swing to digital forms of payment, respondents frequently indicated that they had reservations about the security and institutional backing of these new options. In fact, when deciding which payment method to use, security had the greatest influence on consumer choice, beating out discounts/promotions, rewards and even low interest rates.
Sandeep Malhotra, Executive Vice President, Products & Innovation, Asia Pacific at Mastercard, said, “Consumers in the Asia Pacific regionhave consistently shown a willingness to adopt innovative new technologies—and payments are no exception.”
