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Consumers in the Asia Pacific region remain among the most enthusiastic adopters of digital payments in the world, with 88 percent having used technologies like digital wallets, QR codes, Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL), cryptocurrencies, biometrics and others in the last year, a new study says.
What’s more, 69 per cent of APAC consumers increased their usage of at least one digital payment method during the same period, demonstrating momentum. In comparison, only 52 per cent of consumers in North America and just 48 per cent in Europe, (regions where consumers tend to be more guarded and cautious about emerging payment technologies) increased their usage in the same way, according to the new Mastercard research.
The latest data on payment habits, attitudes and preferences was published on 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, said Mastercard in a statement.
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 per cent of survey respondents in APAC cutting back on their use of cash in the last year.
Sandeep Malhotra, Executive Vice President, Products & Innovation, Asia Pacific at Mastercard, said, “Consumers in the Asia Pacific region have consistently shown a willingness to adopt innovative new technologies—and payments are no exception.”
There’s broad recognition among consumers that using biometric identification, such as fingerprint or facial recognition, is easier than remembering PINs or passwords (70 per cent), and more secure than these traditional methods of verification (69 per cent), the study revealed.
At the same time, only around half (53 per cent) of respondents in APAC felt comfortable sharing their biometric data to save time, while 72 per cent were concerned about which entities would have access to this data. Despite this, 58 per cent of consumers used biometrics more frequently in the last year, demonstrating both an enthusiasm for the technology, and untapped potential if providers are able to properly address consumers’ misgivings about privacy.
APAC is ahead of the curve with BNPL as 50 per cent of consumers across the region say they are comfortable using BNPL today, while only 41 per cent of consumers globally are comfortable using these installment plans.
In particular, consumers in APAC tap on BNPL offerings for their low/no interest payments, in times of emergency and when they want to expedite bigger purchases. Looking ahead, 55 per cent in APAC say they are likely to use BNPL in the next year. At the same time, building trust and comfort is key as APAC consumers feel safer using BNPL solutions backed by a major payment network (67 per cent) or their existing bank (65 per cent), rather than from other providers.
The majority of consumers in APAC have heard of cryptocurrencies (88 per cent), non-fungible tokens (NFTs) (68 per cent), and other digital assets—but uptake has been gradual.
For now, the focus is on investment. Among APAC consumers, 31 per cent (and 44 per cent of APAC millennials) report holding crypto as an investment during the past year, while future use cases that are popular among respondents include using crypto to redeem rewards, invest and make everyday payments. Regarding the latter, just under half of respondents (46 percent) want increased flexibility to use crypto for everyday payments.
