Covid-19 has changed much of the world upside down. You will be hard pressed to find anyone who has not been impacted in some way or another by the illness that spread the world in a matter of months. More of us are now working from home, schools were closed for longer than since world war 2 and we are still impacted by travel restrictions. But I was keen to learn if changes in payment technology adoption since the outbreak of Covid-19 had been impacted.
UK Based Survey on Payment Methods Post Covid-19
During September and October I randomly asked 50 UK residents on Twitter to complete a survey on their use of different types of payment methods post the outbreak of Covid-19. The survey consisted of 4 questions relating to their payment preferences and one additional question to confirm they were a resident in the UK.
Q1. Has the Coronavirus pandemic increased your adoption of wireless payment technology?
Two thirds of participants stated that their use of wireless payment technology had increased since the outbreak of Covid-19. This is not surprising as the UK Government has been suggesting that people avoid handling cash where possible. Cash was seen as being a source of infection as cash is typically handled multiple times a day by multiple people.
Q2. Had you made use of wireless cards pre-pandemic?
A large percentage of participants stated that they had used wireless card payments pre-pandemic. In comparison, almost a quarter of participants stated they had never used wireless card payments pre-pandemic.
Q3. Has the amount of physical cash you use since the start of the pandemic changed?
Out of all the questions asked, this is probably the one that signifies the biggest change is payment methods used by the UK public. A staggering 52% of participants stated that their use of cash had significantly reduced since the outbreak of Covid-19 in the UK.
Q4. Has the pandemic encouraged you to use pay at pump as your preference over paying in store for your petrol?
Almost a quarter of participants stated that the pandemic has encouraged them to use pay at pump machines. Furthermore, this combined with the 34% that said their already used pay at pump, shows that this method is now the prefered method totalling 58%.
Summary
Based on these results it is clear to see that there have been a number of changes in payment technology adoption since the outbreak of Covid-19 in the UK. There has been a significant move away from cash towards alternative payment methods. Payment methods not only seem to be moving away from cash but they are also moving away from methods that require interaction with a store assistant. Moving towards wireless card payments and pay at pump facilities at petrol stations.