Contactless Payment Users Surge Sixfold from 8% to 45% in One Year

Visa Announces Consumer Survey on Contactless Payments

The recognition of contactless payment?a method where you 'tap' your card on the payment terminal without inserting or swiping it?has increased significantly. In South Korea, contactless payments are widely used in everyday sectors such as convenience stores and cafes.

Global payment technology company Visa announced the results of a survey on contactless payments and overseas travel on the 31st. This survey analyzed changes in payment method experiences domestically and internationally compared to a perception survey on contactless payments conducted last March, just before the introduction of Apple Pay. The survey was conducted from the 1st to the 14th of last month, targeting 1,000 men and women aged 20 to 59 living in Seoul, Gyeonggi Province, and five major metropolitan cities.

[Image source=Pixabay]

Awareness of contactless payments has increased significantly over the past year. Respondents who knew about contactless cards and payments accounted for 59.8% last year, but this year the figure rose by more than 20 percentage points to 80.5%. Among the participants, those in their 20s (88.5%), iPhone users (87.5%), and recent overseas travelers (85%) showed awareness rates above the average.

The proportion of respondents who reported having used contactless payments also increased sharply. Those with experience using contactless payments accounted for only 7.9% in last year’s survey but surged to 45% in this survey, about six times higher. This is attributed to the increased adoption of EMV payment terminals following the introduction of Apple Pay last year. The EMV standard refers to a near-field communication (NFC)-based payment method developed by global payment technology companies Visa, Europay, and Mastercard.

In South Korea, since EMV terminals have mainly been distributed among large franchises, contactless payments are mostly used in sectors closely related to daily life. Contactless payment users reported using this payment method most frequently at convenience stores (70.4%), cafes (50.8%), and restaurants (46%). By age group, those in their 20s showed higher usage rates than other generations at convenience stores (78.2%) and for movies and books (21.8%), while those in their 50s used contactless payments more at gas stations and charging stations (27%) compared to those in their 20s (10.9%).

[Image source=Visa]

When traveling abroad, respondents experienced contactless payments in relatively diverse areas. Those who used contactless payments overseas said they paid more than half (an average of 751,000 KRW) of their total expenses excluding airfare and accommodation (an average of 1,385,000 KRW) using contactless methods. Similar to domestic usage, convenience stores (61.2%) were the most frequent places for contactless payments, followed by restaurants (56.2%), supermarkets (44.6%), hotels and resorts (25.6%), and duty-free shops (24.8%).

Among overseas contactless users, 47.9% reported using public transportation with an open-loop (open payment) system. Open-loop refers to a system where public transportation fares are paid using an EMV-supported card without a separate ticket or transportation card. The highest number of respondents who used this payment method was in Japan (53.4%), followed by Singapore (15.5%) and the United Kingdom (10.3%).

Patrick Storey, President of Visa Korea, said, "It is very impressive that there has been a significant positive change in consumers’ awareness and experience of contactless payments in just one year. We will continue to strive to enhance payment convenience by successfully establishing global success cases, including the open-loop system, here in Korea."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.