NFC TIMES Exclusive Insight – There’s more evidence that the Covid-19 pandemic is helping to change the way that consumers pay, with more use of contactless cards, mobile wallets and e-commerce channels, according to the “World Payments Report 2020” published Tuesday by global consulting firm Capgemini.
The annual report, which covers 44 markets, mainly in Europe, Asia-Pacific and North America, includes results of a large survey the Capgemini conducted in July and August 2020 of more than 8,600 consumers. Capgemini said that nearly two-thirds, or 64%, of survey respondents said they had used contactless cards during the COVID-19 pandemic, with 41% saying they had used the payments technology for the first time during the crisis. More than 50 countries or markets expanded contactless transaction amount limits during the height of the pandemic, which also fueled adoption of contactless, France-based Capgemini added.
The pandemic appears to make consumers less comfortable handling cash or touching public surfaces, such as ATMs and POS terminals. But increases in alternative payments methods were already growing before the pandemic. The World Payments Report 2020 projected that global non-cash transactions will increase at a compound annual growth rate of 11.5% between 2019 and 2023 to just under $1 trillion. The growth ranges from 2.5% annual growth in North America to 19.3% in Asia-Pacific. That global CAGR of 11.5%, however, is down by nearly 5 percentage points from previous projections of where non-cash transactions would be by 2023, Capgemini noted.
