Consumers unwilling to trade security for convenience

Internet Retailing

21st Jul 2017

Australian consumers are caught between their desire for convenience and concern about security when it comes to making payments, new research from Visa shows.

According to a recent study conducted by YouGov on behalf of Visa, 77 per cent of respondents said they are not willing to sacrifice the privacy of their personal information for greater convenience when making payments.

And while more than half of respondents (56 per cent) said they are comfortable using their thumbprint, voice or retina for payment, security outweighed convenience as the most desirable aspect of biometric payments.

Less than half of respondents (39 per cent) were willing to share their personal information in exchange for convenient payments.

Research shows that e-commerce companies aren’t doing enough to reassure consumers about security, with 64 per cent of respondents saying they had not completed an online transaction after feeling concerned that the website was not secure.

The top three reasons for breaking off the purchase were that the website looked unsophisticated (43 per cent), they did not see payment labels that they recognised (37 per cent) and the checkout process kept stalling (30 per cent).

Security will become even more critical, as the rise of internet-connected devices like smart home virtual assistants and connected fridges begin to make payments on behalf of consumers.

More than a quarter or respondents (29 per cent) said they are ready for these kinds of transactions, up sharply from 12 per cent in September 2016.

“As the Internet of Things and biometric capabilities become integrated into our everyday experiences, we’ll experience a significant shift in how payments are made. In our lifetime, we will see infinitely more choice in the ways Australians pay, from watches, fridges and mobile phones, to eyes and fingers. And we’ll experience personalisation that we never thought possible, powered by artificial intelligence,” said Stephen Karpin, group country manager for Visa in Australia, New Zealand & South Pacific.

The credit card company has predicted that its three billion cards currently in circulation around the world will expand into 30 billion different ways of paying at 400 million physical and digital acceptance points.

Futurist, Anders Sorman-Nilsson, said we’re only at the beginning of a commerce revolution: “Ease of use will drive consumers to adopt new payment and commerce experiences. Connected, AI enabled devices ready to pay will only be pervasive if the experience is easy, seamless and secure.”