Mobile payments are taking off in Europe, according to a Visa’s 2016 Digital Payments Study.
The study is based on a survey of over 36,000 users across Europe, and charts the quick rise of mobile payment adoption. Visa says that compared to last year, the number of Europeans who regularly make mobile payments has tripled, reaching 54 percent. Over the same period, the percentage of respondents who said they had never made a mobile payment dropped from 38 to 12.
Visa says the countries with the highest adoption rates are a mix of developing markets that are “leapfrogging traditional payment methods” and Nordic countries, with Turkey and Denmark being the leading examples. Meanwhile, 74 percent of UK respondents said they make mobile payments, and 43 percent report using mobile devices to make big purchases, such as holiday bookings.
The survey also found growing adoption of mobile banking, and while millennials are the “most prolific” users of this technology, the fastest-growing demographic is actually those in the 55-64 age range, 46 percent of whom report using such services. That suggests mobile banking is becoming something of a universal activity.
Visa notes that the rising adoption of mobile payments correlates with the spread of contactless POS technology. Consumers’ increasing use of mobile devices in general is also probably a major factor, and the growing preponderance of biometric technology on mobile devices, which can help to ensure security for users, likely plays an important role, too.
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