Traditional payment methods are widely used. Around 90 per cent of respondents stated that they use cash, SEPA transfer and debit card frequently. The only exception was the use of SEPA transfers in the Netherlands and Belgium, with 72 per cent and 60 per cent usage rates respectively. Credit card usage varies widely across countries. Turkish respondents had the highest usage rate at 79 per cent. The Netherlands, on the other hand, has the lowest usage frequency for credit cards at 48 per cent.
Contactless payment lags behind other forms due to low levels of infrastructure penetration, hand in hand with security concerns when compared to credit card usage. Usage rates for contactless payment are only significant in Turkey and the Netherlands, at 61 per cent and 70 per cent respectively.
Payment goes online
Mobile payment is also expected to grow strongly. Respondents in Germany and Austria stated that they will use mobile payment almost twice as often in the near future. Respondents in Switzerland and Turkey will also use mobile payment more frequently, with a rise from 35 per cent to 59 per cent expected in Switzerland and from 65 per cent to 82 per cent in Turkey.New payment technologies, such as payment using biometric features (finger prints, facial recognition, etc.), remain unpopular among consumers, with stated usage rates of around 10-15 per cent.