UK consumers appetite for new technologies on the upswing: report

Gocompare.com found that 80% have used an alternative payment method, including a contactless debit or credit card, PayPal, Google Wallet or Apple Pay over the past year. Over 50% of those using the new payment systems do so because they find them more convenient than traditional payment methods, while 24% said they were easier to use than cash or traditional bank cards. A fifth plan to use the new payment systems more in the future.

The most popular alternative payment systems used in the period under review were PayPal (70%), a contactless debit card (19%) and a contactless credit card (11%). A smaller number of those surveyed have used other platforms including Goggle Wallet (4%), Pingit (2%), Apple Pay (2%) and Paym (1%).

Over a third of those involved in the research mentioned they would like to see more websites offering alternative payment methods. However, 15% of respondents said that they were concerned that the new digital payment systems encouraged them to spend more than they should, while 7% do not connect their spending in this way with ‘real money’.