Blackhawk Study Finds Widening Use of Digital and Mobile Payments
Consumers are using a larger variety of payment options, with digital and mobile payments serving as supplements to traditional cash and card-based payment tools, according to new research released by Blackhawk Network. The study, How America Pays in 2015: Traditional, Digital and Mobile Convergence in Payments, polled more than 1,000 Americans to find out how they pay today, their preferences for traditional and emerging payment tools, and how safe they believe different payment options to be. Some highlights:
- Nearly half (48%) used retailer gift cards in the past 12 months; 33% used prepaid debit cards; and 14% made mobile payments on smartphones or tablets.
- Gift cards’ popularity is significant: 87% of consumers surveyed think merchant-specific gift cards are convenient to use, even higher than bank-connected debit cards (82%).
- Mobile wallets are now used by 25% of smartphone owners. And what do consumers carry in their mobile wallets? 64% have debit cards; 58% have credit cards; and 45% have gift cards.
- When asked to select the most convenient payment methods, consumers selected cash (93%), credit cards (92%), PayPal (90%) and retailer-specific gift cards (87%).
For more information, visit www.blackhawknetwork.com
