Filipinos show interest in new payment methods, says Visa

Three of five Filipino consumers are open to contactless payment methods, recording the highest interest compared to its neighbors from Malaysia (58 percent), Thailand (55 percent), and Singapore (30 percent), according to a recent study by Visa.

The study also shows that contactless payment technologies have penetrated the region, with seven out of 10 consumers aware of existing contactless payment methods.

The Visa Consumer Payment Attitudes Study 2014 highlights the growing trend of payment card usage across Asia-Pacific markets.

More than 2,000 respondents from Singapore, Philippines, Malaysia and Thailand were surveyed on their spending behaviors throughout the region.

The Visa Study also tackled consumers’ interest and concerns in using innovative payment technologies such as Visa payWave cards and new form factors such as NFC-enabled smartphones and payment stickers, which allow consumers to pay for their transactions without needing to swipe their payment cards.

The Visa Study reveals that Filipino consumers are highly aware of contactless payment solutions (62 percent), but only two out of 10 have actually used contactless payment cards to pay for their transactions. This is due to the widespread misunderstanding of how contactless payment technology works.

Though the security technology of contactless payment solutions are in the cutting edge, consumers are still worried about fraudulent use of lost cards (83 percent) and being billed accidentally for transactions (78 percent).

This leads to the country falling behind neighbors in Singapore in adopting contactless payment technologies, where 87 percent of respondents are aware of the technology and 55 percent have used it.

However, prizing faster transactions and convenience in everyday life, Filipino consumers still remain positively inclined towards contactless payment cards.

In fact, the majority of Filipino consumers (80 percent) would avail themselves of a contactless payment card if it was made optional by their banks.

Among these respondents, Filipino working adults, between the ages of 24 to 44, show the most interest in using contactless payment methods such as Visa payWave.

The Visa Study further revealed that Filipinos are more eager to use newer payment form factors, such as contactless-enabled payment stickers (71 percent) and smartphones (77 percent)—as opposed to the plastic card format we are familiar with—compared to Singaporeans (60 percent and 63 percent, respectively).

Filipinos also show strong preference (78 percent) for shops that accept contactless payments over ones that do not, showing appetite to incorporate contactless payments into everyday life.

“The Visa Study reveals that while Filipinos are highly aware of contactless payment technologies such as Visa payWave, there is still a need to educate the market to address security concerns and highlight the benefits of using these technologies. Visa sees this as an opportunity not only to promote a more convenient payment solution, but also reinforce the level of security that Visa payWave carries,” said Stuart Tomlinson, Visa Country Manager for the Philippines and Guam.

Visa payWave works by utilizing near-field communication (NFC) technology to communicate with contactless-enabled Visa payWave point-of-sale (POS) terminals.

Visa payWave transactions offer the same level of security that regular Visa EMV chip cards carry, along with multiple layers of security throughout the Visa network.

“The positive attitude among Filipinos towards emerging payment technologies is a sign that the country is gearing up for a cashless society. As we introduce more innovative payment solutions in the local market, these findings will help us provide more secure and convenient payment solutions that are relevant to our cardholders’ lifestyles,” added Tomlinson.

Three bank clients currently offer 12 different Visa payWave card products that can be used on over 1,000 terminals deployed in more than 20 client merchant.

These include Mercury Drug, Robinsons Supermarket, Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, Red Ribbon, Bon Chon, Krispy Kreme, Army Navy, and soon, Starbucks Coffee and McDonald’s outlets.

To further promote the adoption of contactless payments in the country, Visa collaborated with Smart Communications and Citi Philippines to introduce a contactless payment sticker that will be tied to the subscribers’ mobile phone plans.

“We see a significant amount of transaction volumes being done over Visa payWave in markets that have widely adopted it, such as Australia, Singapore, Taiwan, New Zealand, and Hong Kong. The Philippines will definitely experience a similar boost in payment volumes as we continue to roll out more Visa payWave products with local banks and merchants in the country,” added Tomlinson. “These products will drive innovation in the country, which will enable Visa to provide products and technologies that will allow cardholders to pay and be paid wherever they may be,” he concluded.