Digital payments are on the rise in Pakistan and are directly decreasing the use of cash among customers in both in-store and online environments during the pandemic, according to the 2021 Stay Secure survey that was launched today by Visa.
The use of digital payments (contactless cards + mobile wallets + QR) for payment online or on delivery has increased by more than half (53 percent) since the onset of the pandemic.
Consumer feedback reinforces the belief that there is no reversal of this trend, with 20 percent of consumers saying that they are less likely to use Cash on Delivery (COD), and 35 percent being more likely to use contactless payment methods in the future.
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Cash on Delivery Becoming Less Prevalent
While e-commerce and contactless payments have increased in popularity, the traditional payment method of COD has ultimately declined as stated by 28 percent of the respondents of the survey.
Nearly two-thirds of the consumers surveyed (58 percent) have high levels of confidence in digital payments (contactless, mobile wallets, and QR Payments) for shopping in-store and payment on delivery, which has increased since the pandemic began.
Their top reasons for their trust in contactless payments are convenience (52 percent), innovative ways to pay (48 percent), wide acceptance (47 percent), speed (41 percent), and avoiding human touch (38 percent).
Knowledge of the technology that protects digital payments is a driver of consumer trust. Over a third (36 percent) of the consumers who trust contactless payments said that their understanding of how contactless payments are protected by security features such as tokenization and that they are as secure as EMV chip card transactions make them confident about payment technology.
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Among those who do not have adequate levels of knowledge of the technology, more than half (53 percent) said that knowing how tokenization works would help them increase their confidence in digital payments and resolve doubts about the safety of digital payments.
For example, close to a third of the respondents fear the misuse of lost or stolen contactless cards due to a lack of understanding of how the technology works. These findings reinforce the importance of continual education on safe digital payment practices among consumers to maintain their trust.
Visa’s Head of Risk for the Middle East and North Africa Neil Fernandes explained:
As our survey results indicate, Pakistani consumers have fully embraced digital payments in the COVID-19 era but that does not come without risks. As consumers shift online, they need to stay vigilant as fraudsters have sought opportunities to exploit these changes in how people pay for goods and services. This is why constant consumer education is so much more important than ever before, and as an industry, we cannot afford to let our guard down. Our ongoing Stay Secure campaign is part of our effort in bringing together all participants in the payments ecosystem to work together to advance efforts to educate consumers on how to stay vigilant, identify potential fraud, and what actions they should take if they are affected.