Table of Contents
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
Back to top