Irish customers love paying with their smartphones, as much as anyone can love paying. Visa just released the results of a survey of consumers across Europe, and it shows that 78% of Irish consumers make payments with a mobile device. That puts us in the top ten of the 19 countries in the survey, ahead of the UK where 74% of consumers reported paying by mobile.
The survey shows a significant leap in the popularity of mobile payments. Almost 40% said they had never used a mobile device to make a payment a year ago and had no intention of ever doing so. In just a year, paying via a mobile or wearable device has become normal. Only 12% said that now they would not make a mobile payment.
Does your business have the capacity to accept mobile payments? People report using mobile payments for everyday expenses such as household bills and parking, as well as larger splurges. More than a third of the Irish respondents reported making a mobile payment for a larger expense such as a holiday or (surprise, surprise) new electronics.
Yes, millennials love their devices and are comfortable using them to make payments… but they are not the only ones. Across Europe, the demographic with the fastest growth rate in using mobile payments is the 55 – 64-year-olds. Consider your stereotypes deleted. More than 50% of those in the 55 – 64-year-old group report making payments with their smartphones. Admittedly, they still have the lowest rate of all ages, but they’ve reached the tipping point. If you think it isn’t worth your while to offer a mobile payment option because of your target market’s age, you need to reconsider.
The top ten countries were split between those that are catching up technologically and skipping from older methods right to the cutting edge and those countries where mobile technology is well established. Turkey has the highest rate of mobile payments at 91%. Denmark is second at 89%. With 78% of us making mobile payments, Ireland is nestled between Romania at 79% and Finland at 77%.
Whether you are marketing to a local market or a global one, one thing is pretty clear. You need to be sure that all aspects of your online presence are device-friendly because your audience is increasingly very friendly with their smartphones.
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By Irene Hislop
By Conor McCaffrey