Skip to main content

Contactless and NFC set to grow finds CARTES commissioned survey

As the number of smart phone and tablet users continues to soar, consumer purchasing behaviour will change and consumers will increasingly opt for the convenience of contactless cards and NFC-based payments in the next three to five years. This is one of the findings of a new study into retail payment technology trends, commissioned by CARTES Secure Connexions Event and Payments Cards & Mobile, which also revealed that difference stakeholders have different priorities when it comes to the next generation of
October 30, 2013 Read time: 3 mins
As the number of smart phone and tablet users continues to soar, consumer purchasing behaviour will change and consumers will increasingly opt for the convenience of contactless cards and NFC-based payments in the next three to five years.

This is one of the findings of a new study into retail payment technology trends, commissioned by CARTES Secure Connexions Event and Payments Cards & Mobile, which also revealed that difference stakeholders have different priorities when it comes to the next generation of payment technologies:

•    Consumers are looking for quicker, more convenient and secure payments with the capability to handle discount vouchers

•    They do not trust QR codes and mobile magnetic strip points of sale, seeing them as the least secure option

•    Retailers are hoping to use the technology to gather information on existing customers and attract new ones

•    Loyalty cards, discount vouchers and data on consumer preferences are the services which add the most value for retailers, who believe contactless cards, traditional cards and NFC mobile cards and wallets are the best technologies for developing these services.

The survey also identified conflict between providers when it came to next-generation point-of-sale payment services. Banks and card system operators are seeking to head off competitors in the payment methods sector. The Banque Accord has already developed its own NFC application called Flash’n pay, allowing consumers to scan their articles in store, to access discounts in real time and pay with their own mobile terminal. Consumers are attracted by several features of the new payment methods, including paperless billing and loyalty cards, discount vouchers, product information, scanning and paying for articles using personal devices and location-based services. Retailers told the survey that if these new services make it possible to boost sales and attract new customers, they are willing to invest in new systems. Commenting on the report, Isabelle Alfano, Director of the Cartes Secure Connexions Event said the emerging market for contactless payments presents a challenge for retailers when it comes to picking the right technology. “Although the major players in retail are aware that they have to meet the challenge of mobile payments to secure the loyalty of existing customers and attract new ones, they do not yet know in which technologies it is worth investing. Many questions about the new payment methods remain to be answered but this also means there are opportunities to be seized.”

Related Content

  • Pilot shows how wi-fi data could improve London Underground journeys
    September 11, 2017
    Journeys on London Underground could be improved through Transport for London (TfL) harnessing wi-fi data to make more information available to customers as they move around London, new research has shown. The four-week TfL pilot, which ran between November and December last year, studied how depersonalised wi-fi connection data from customers' mobile devices could be used to better understand how people navigate the London Underground network, allowing TfL to improve the experience for customers.
  • Driverless vehicles just around the corner?
    February 28, 2013
    umors that self-driving taxis are about to hit the streets of Las Vegas have turned out to be untrue… but the age of the driverless vehicle is only just around the corner, as Pete Goldin finds out. From Herbie the Love Bug to Knight Rider to the cast of the Pixar film Cars, the autono­mous auto has long been a beloved icon in the entertainment industry. But how close is the fiction to fact? The general public might be surprised to find out just how soon autonomous vehicles could be driving on our roadways.
  • Smarter transport remains key to smart cities
    January 9, 2018
    Colin Sowman looks at some of the challenges and solutions that will provide enhanced transport efficiency in tomorrow’s smarter cities. However you define a ‘smart city’, one of the key ingredients will be an efficient transport system. As most governments and city authorities face financial constraints, incremental improvements in the existing systems is the most likely way forward. In London, new trains and signalling are improving the capacity of the Underground but that then reveals previously
  • Shipments of NFC-enabled handsets reached 30 million units in 2011
    April 4, 2012
    According to a new research report by Berg Insight, global sales of handsets featuring near field communication (NFC) increased ten-fold in 2011 to 30 million units. Growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 87.8 per cent, shipments are forecasted to reach 700 million units in 2016. The global rise in smartphone adoption is also driving higher attach rates for other wireless connectivity technologies in handsets including GPS, Bluetooth and WLAN. These connectivity technologies are already a standa