Shoppers prefer to use a mobile phone or wearable to pay for goods, according to an ABI survey for the NFC Forum.

The survey of more than 2600 shoppers in nine countries – China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Spain, UK and USA – found more than 80% confirming they have used a smartphone or smartwatch to make contactless payments.

The bi-annual NFC usage and adoption study highlights the accelerating migration from physical to digital wallets, with security, convenience and future digital wallet innovations cementing the growing trend towards device-first approaches.

For the first time ever, the study found most consumers prefer to use their mobile phone or wearable to pay over a contactless card. Additionally, when compared with other payment options including contactless cards, QR codes and cash, consumers rated NFC contactless as the most secure, most convenient, most reliable and easiest way to pay in-person.

The study provides a renewed understanding of consumer adoption, familiarity and experience with NFC technology at both a global and regional level, with 55% of respondents saying they would prefer to use their smartphone or smartwatch to make a payment rather than their card. And 95% of those surveyed have left their physical wallet or purse at home on at least one occasion, choosing instead to rely solely on mobile payments. More than half (53%) confirmed they do so multiple times each week.

“The 2024 study highlights a significant paradigm shift in the way that people use their contactless devices,” said Andrew Zignani, research director at ABI Research (www.abiresearch.com). “Daily use of mobile payment platforms is becoming increasingly common, with users citing the security, reliability and convenience of digital as core driving factors. As familiarity and understanding of NFC continues to grow, so too does demand for additional applications and use cases for the technology. We are now entering an end user perception step change whereby NFC is not just considered a payments technology, but a technology that can underpin a variety of different applications and use cases, such as the ability to tap to receive additional product information, for digital car and/or house key storage, use across brand protection, or tap to register a product warranty, to name but a few.”

Mike McCamon, executive director of NFC Forum (nfc-forum.org), added: “NFC technology enables the creation of efficient, reliable, secure, environmentally-friendly and smart options. And with emerging concepts such as multi-purpose tap – an evolution of NFC that allows users to complete multiple required actions in a transaction in a single tap – device makers and providers are being empowered to create transformations across all manner of vertical industries. Access control, payments, digital identity, transport and even emerging digital product passport requirements for sustainability all stand to benefit from improved usability and security thanks to NFC.”

More information on the research can be found at: nfc-forum.org/learn/resources/2024-abi-usage-and-adoption-study.