More people would make contactless payments if they actually owned a contactless card
- There is still a small but not insignificant portion of the population that doesn’t own a contactless card.
- Card issuers could benefit from filling the gap in the market.
Covid-19 has paved the way for contactless pay. Mobile wallets have certainly seen their own growth spurt in use.
The mobile wallet industry is expected to become a $2.4 trillion industry by the end of this year, according to research by Finaria, an investment and finance firm. That’s a 24% increase compared to last year.
This number is expected to reach $3.5 trillion by 2023.
Still, mobile wallets aren’t in preferred payment territory just yet. A study by PaymentsSource last year found that while digital forms of payments have certainly accelerated as a result of the pandemic, there still remain some pretty clear roadblocks for mobile wallets before they can completely replace people’s actual wallets.
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The study, which was conducted online and surveyed 506 adults in the U.S., ages 18-74 reflective of the general population, found that a significant portion of those surveyed don’t even own a contactless card.
When those who didn’t use mobile wallets at all to pay for things were asked why, 34% said it was because they didn’t have a contactless card to begin with.
Maybe unsurprisingly, Boomers were the top age group who said they didn’t own a contactless card, at 43%.
The Gen Z and Millennial groups had lower numbers, at 30% and 22%, respectively. While that percentage may not be so intense, it still highlights a missed opportunity.
According to the report, card issuers that don’t start issuing contactless cards could be missing out on some serious demand.