Australian shoppers prefer tap and go over cash

Nearly two-thirds of Australians prefer to use electronic payment rather than cash for transactions under $100, research commissioned by MasterCard indicates.

The survey shows that 64% prefer tap and go, the contactless payment method, to cash for small transactions; and 66% prefer tap and go over entering their PIN.

Around 77% of Australians have adopted the payment method. Consumers report a preference due to the method’s speed and convenience, as well as the belief that consumers are more likely to be reimbursed for unauthorised contactless payments made with a stolen card than they are to retrieve stolen cash.

MasterCard said that while contactless MasterCard transactions grew 148% between July 2013 and 2014, fraud related to contactless payments still makes up less than 2% of total card fraud.

Contactless payment was first introduced to Australia in 2007 and is now supported at 625,000 terminals across the country, the company said.

The technology is most popular among consumers in WA (72%), followed by NSW (67%), Victoria (66%) and Tasmania (66%).

“This research indicates not only a shift in the preferred methods in which consumers like to pay, but also suggests that they are beginning to understand and trust the safety benefits associated with paying by card,” MasterCard Country Manager Andrew Cartwright said.

“As contactless payments continue to rise, cash is increasingly becoming unnecessary real estate in wallets.”

Image courtesy of Mike Mozart under CC