News

Cash, credit still retail consumer favorite payment choice

December 18, 2018

A majority of U.S. consumers (89 percent) still prefer paying with cash, credit card or debit card and only 8 percent of respondents prefer mobile payment.

That's a top finding from the "How Behavioral Science Can Unleash Digital Payments Adoption," report released by Simon-Kucher & Partners.

The report examines behavioral and psychological biases driving payment decisions among U.S. consumers, and explores behavior-based approaches to motivating and supporting mobile payment habits, according to a press release.

The U.S. has one of the world's highest smartphone penetration rates in the world. Yet, consumers are not embracing mobile payments on a significant scale, despite its benefits in terms of higher security, speed and convenience.

Additional highlights from the report include:

• Nearly 40 percent of the time, reasons cited for not using mobile payments included fraud and identity theft. Only 13 percent of mobile payment nonusers thought mobile wallets were secure.
• Nearly 70 percent of the time, reasons cited for not using mobile payments related to lack of confidence in using the technology, including: 
  • Not tech savvy (23 percent).
  • Risk of losing phone (18 percent).
  • Fear of forgetting passwords (11 percent).
  • Fear of making mistakes (9 percent).
  • Frustration setting up payment features (9 percent).
• Among mobile payment users, 75 percent prefer to use a mobile payment app offered by their primary bank rather than one offered by a software company or other bank.
• The report draws from insights based on a survey of U.S. adults about their payment attitudes, behaviors and preferences.