US: 79% of enterprises consider cryptocurrencies adoption

Additionally, 80% of the 634 US residents surveyed said they expect digital currencies to overtake paper currencies in the future, according to a report issued by the Ponemon Institute and commissioned by HP.
While digital wallets are popular, respondents remain concerned about security risks. However, the report concludes that widespread adoption of digital currencies is “inevitable” because both companies and consumers are willing to embrace them.

In total, 60% of respondents said digital currencies are an important part of their organisation’s electronic payment strategy, with 26% saying they strongly agree with that statement. Respondents were particularly bullish on mobile payments and 75% confirmed their organisations plan to offer support for mobile payments in the near future, while 59% said they will integrate support for stored value cards.

Digital currencies came in third, with 43% of respondents saying they will play a part in their mobile payment strategy. When asked whether digital currencies would overtake paper currencies in the future, the majority of respondents were positive. Most expect this to occur within 5-10 years and only 20% of those surveyed said this would never happen.

A similar trend is visible in digital wallets, but respondents expect adoption to be somewhat faster. 24% said they would adopt digital wallets over the next two years, while a further 56% said they would do so over a 5-10 year period.

For the time being, support for digital currencies remains limited. Just 14% of respondents said their organisations support digital currencies already. Interest is picking up, however. 11% of respondents said they plan to integrate support over the next 6 months, while 9% expect integration over the next 12 months.

Many of those surveyed (45%) said their organisations plan to roll out support for digital currencies more than a year from now, while 21% said there were no plans for support. When asked how important the acceptance of paperless or virtual currencies (such as Bitcoin) is to their organisation’s innovative electronic payment strategy, 40% of respondents said it was essential, while 43% described it as very important.

When asked whether the acceptance of digital currencies would increase or decrease the security and integrity of electronic payments, the majority of respondents said it would result in a decrease.

The majority (42%) said they expect a decrease, while 41% said digital currencies would result in a ‘significant decrease’. Just 2% expect a significant increase and an additional 5% expect an increase, while 10% said digital currency adoption would have no impact on security.