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Payment Methods - Ireland - December 2018

OVERVIEW
What you need to know
Issues covered in this Report
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Market factors
Consumers making more card payments every year
Increased contactless payments by RoI and NI consumers
Cash usage dipping slightly, but still high by international standards
Cheque usage declining sharply both in NI and RoI
Companies and Brands
The consumer
Cashless society not likely in foreseeable future
Figure 1: Methods of payment used in-store or in-person in the last month by consumers (includes paying for goods, services or bills), NI and RoI, November 2018
Debit cards, PayPal the main methods for online payments
Figure 2: Methods of payment used within the last month when paying for things online, NI and RoI, November 2018
Concerns about security discouraging use of payment apps
Figure 3: Factors that would put consumers off using an app to make payments or transfer money, NI and RoI, September 2018
Consumer comfort with biometrics fairly high
Figure 4: Payment and money transfer innovations that consumers would feel comfortable using, NI and RoI, September 2018
Support for more cashless options, but lingering regard for cash
Figure 5: Agreement with statements about payment methods, NI and RoI, September 2018
What it means
THE MARKET – WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Per capita card payments on the rise throughout Europe
Both RoI and NI consumers making more contactless payments
Consumers using cash slightly less, but still heavily dependent
Consumers' use of cheques continuing to decline
MARKET DRIVERS
Strong growth in payment card usage among consumers
Figure 6: Card payments per capita, RoI, UK (incl. NI) and selected European countries, 2014 and 2017
Strong growth in contactless payments among RoI consumers
Figure 7: Contactless card transactions, volume, millions, RoI, 2016-18
Figure 8: Contactless card transactions, value, € millions, RoI, 2016-18
Contactless payment use is up almost 50% among NI consumers
Figure 9: Volume of contactless payments, % year-on-year growth, selected UK regions, June 2018
Decline in cash use among Irish consumers, but usage remains high
Figure 10: Value of cash withdrawals from ATMs, £ billion, UK (including NI), Q1 2015-Q2 2018
Figure 11: Value of cash withdrawals from ATMs, € billion, RoI, Q2 2016-Q2 2018
Cheque usage in veritable freefall, heading towards obsolescence
Figure 12: Volume of cheques cleared, £ billion, UK (including NI), Q1 2015-Q2 2018
Figure 13: Volume of cheques, % year-on-year change, RoI, RoI, Q1 2017-Q2 2018
Vast majority of RoI consumers now online at home and on the go
Figure 14: Households with internet access, RoI, 2018
Figure 15: Device typically used to access the internet, by type of device, RoI, 2018
Figure 16: Consumers who typically access the internet via a mobile phone or smartphone, by age, RoI, 2018
Rapid growth in mobile phone online access among NI consumers
Figure 17: Consumers with internet access, Broadband and Internet on mobile phone, NI, 2011-17
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW – COMPANIES AND BRANDS
Amazon and PayPal both trying to move further into the physical retail sphere
Blockchain becomes a focus for experimentation
Facebook could be seeking to combine social with payment processing
Many forward-thinking banks are amid strategic shift towards digital
Stripe could be among the largest benefactors of further digitisation of commerce
COMPANIES AND BRANDS
Amazon Pay
Key facts
Competitive Strategy
Recent developments
Apple Pay
Key facts
Competitive strategy
Recent developments
Facebook Messenger
Key facts
Competitive strategy
Recent developments
Google Pay
Key facts
Competitive strategy
Recent developments
HSBC Connected Money
Key facts
Competitive strategy
Recent developments
MoneyGram
Key facts
Competitive strategy
Recent developments
PayPal
Key facts
Competitive strategy
Recent developments
Samsung Pay (NI Only)
Key facts
Competitive strategy
Recent developments
Stripe
Key facts
Competitive strategy
Recent developments
TransferMate
Key facts
Competitive strategy
Recent developments
WHO’S INNOVATING?
Amazon Go opens second cashless store in Seattle
Financial Technology firm, First Data, open third RoI office to develop next generation payment technologies
Mastercard adding 175 employees in Ireland with a focus on blockchain
Wearable technology incorporating digital payments
THE CONSUMER – WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Cash remains most commonly used method in-person or in-store
When paying online, debit cards and PayPal the preferred methods
Payment security the main obstacle to greater app usage
Biometric innovations likely to be accepted by Irish consumers
Consumers want both cash and cashless payment options
USAGE OF PAYMENT METHODS (OFFLINE)
Cash remains most frequently used in-store payment method
Figure 18: Methods of payment used in-store or in-person in the last month by consumers (includes paying for goods, services or bills), NI and RoI, November 2018
Older consumers more likely to be regular cash users
Figure 19: Consumers who have used cash in the last month to pay for goods, services or bills either in-store or in-person, NI and RoI, November 2018
Women, ABC1s and 45-54s most inclined to use debit card chip and PIN
Figure 20: Consumers who have used debit card (chip and pin) in the last month to pay for goods, services or bills either in-store or in-person, by gender, age and social class, NI and RoI, November 2018
Men, ABC1s and 55+s heaviest users of credit card chip and PIN
Figure 21: Consumers who have used credit card (chip and pin) in the last month to pay for goods, services or bills either in-store or in-person, by gender, age and social class, NI and RoI, November 2018
Consumers have embraced contactless debit card payments
Figure 22: Consumers who have used debit card (contactless) in the last month to pay for goods, services or bills either in-store or in-person, by gender, age and social class, NI and RoI, November 2018
Men and high earners favouring credit card contactless technology
Figure 23: Consumers who have used credit card (contactless) in the last month to pay for goods, services or bills either in-store or in-person, by gender, age, social class and household income, NI and RoI, November 2018
Direct debits/standing orders, bank transfers used by significant minority
Figure 24: Consumers who have used direct debit/standing order and bank transfer in the last month to pay for goods, services or bills either in-store or in-person, NI and RoI, November 2018
PayPal leads the way within non-mainstream sector
Figure 25: Consumers who have used direct PayPal, Android Payment app and Apple Pay in the last month to pay for goods, services or bills either in-store or in-person, NI and RoI, November 2018
USAGE OF PAYMENT METHODS (ONLINE)
Debit cards and PayPal the leading choices when buying online
Figure 26: Methods of payment used within the last month when paying for things online, NI and RoI, November 2018
Debit cards the most democratic payment method when buying online
Figure 27: Consumers who have used debit cards within the last month to pay for goods, services or bills online, by gender, age and social class, NI and RoI, November 2018
Experience and confidence online leads to greater PayPal usage
Figure 28: Consumers who have used PayPal within the last month to pay for goods, services or bills online, by gender, age and daily internet usage, NI and RoI, November 2018
Credit card usage online strongly linked to ownership
Figure 29: Consumers who have used a Credit Card within the last month to pay for goods, services or bills online, NI and RoI, November 2018
High earners most likely to pay online using bank transfer
Figure 30: Consumers who have used a bank transfer within the last month to pay for goods, services or bills online, by gross annual household income, NI and RoI, November 2018
BARRIERS TO APP USAGE
Payment security the biggest obstacle to payment app use
Figure 31: Factors that would put consumers off using an app to make payments or transfer money, NI and RoI, September 2018
Concern about security discouraging young, tech-savvy consumers
Figure 32: Consumers who are put off using an app to make payments or transfer money because of payment security, by age and daily internet usage NI and RoI, November 2018
Women and younger consumers put off by substandard performance
Figure 33: Consumers who are put off using an app to make payments or transfer money because of poor technical performance (such as crashes, outages), by gender and age, NI and RoI, November 2018
Delays and hassle prove a strong deterrent to using particular app
Figure 34: Consumers who are put off using an app to make payments or transfer money because of selected issues pertaining to inconvenience, hassle and delay, NI and RoI, November 2018
INTEREST IN PAYMENT INNOVATIONS
Growing acceptance of value of biometric innovations
Figure 35: Payment and money transfer innovations that consumers would feel comfortable using, NI and RoI, September 2018
Familiarity key to acceptance and confidence in biometrics
Tentative openness to messaging apps and alternative providers
Figure 36: Consumers who would feel comfortable transferring money abroad using a provider other than their main bank and transferring money using a messaging app, NI and RoI, September 2018
Consumers aged 25-54 most comfortable with non-main bank providers
Figure 37: Consumers who would feel comfortable transferring money abroad using a provider other than their main bank (eg TransferWise, MoneyGram), NI and RoI, September 2018
Younger consumers most open to sending funds via messaging apps
Figure 38: Consumers who would feel comfortable transferring money using a messaging app (eg WhatsApp, Messenger), NI and RoI, September 2018
Older consumers, light internet users most likely to have no interest
Figure 39: Consumers who would not feel comfortable with any new payment or money transfer innovation, by gender, age and daily internet usage, NI and RoI, September 2018
ATTITUDES TOWARDS PAYMENT METHODS
Consumers want cash alternatives, but aren't anti-cash
Figure 40: Agreement with statements about payment methods, NI and RoI, September 2018
Older consumers sceptical about benefits of cashless payment methods
Figure 41: Agreement with statements about payment methods, NI and RoI, September 2018
High level of support for controlling own contactless payment limit
Figure 42: Agreement that setting your own transaction limit on contactless cards would be useful, by gender and age, NI and RoI, September 2018
APPENDIX – DATA SOURCES, ABBREVIATIONS AND SUPPORTING INFORMATION
Data sources
Generational cohort definitions
Abbreviations

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