A new survey conducted by Mastercard has found that nearly 73% of New Zealanders now use contactless payments to make transactions.
The study, in which more that 1,000 New Zealanders participated, found that 63% of the people use ‘tap and go’ payments at least once per week, representing an increase of 8% compared to a year ago.
Mastercard noted that people aged between 25 and 34 years (millennials) are driving such payments, with about nine in ten utilising the contactless technology.
The proportion of New Zealanders who use the technology always or whenever they can was also found to have surged, as more than 36% people said they use it whenever they can.
Respondents also revealed that their shopping preferences depend on the payment options provided by the merchants, while some of them get frustrated in case of no contactless functionality at terminals.
Currently, the rate of contactless payments at supermarkets stands at 40%, and people mostly want to use them at retail shops (25%), followed by petrol stations (22%) and cafés/coffee shops (17%).
Mastercard country manager for New Zealand and the Pacific Islands Ruth Riviere said: “There is an increasing number of consumers choosing contactless payments as their preferred way to pay, with this preference influencing where they choose to shop.
“It is therefore important retailers have payment options to ensure they meet this need and are well equipped to succeed in our increasingly cashless society.”
The company said that the contactless technology is further leading to other digital methods such as mobile and wearable payments.
Riviere added: “Mobile and wearable payments are already available in New Zealand, and innovations in payments are progressing rapidly. New Zealanders are technologically savvy so will be excited to see what is on the horizon.”
