US consumers ‘largely unfamiliar’ with contactless and mobile payments

Contactless payment systems remain largely unfamiliar to U.S. consumers despite a high level of satisfaction with the technology’s speed, convenience of ease-of-use. By contrast, adoption of contactless card payment is high in Australia and the U.K., but mobile payments remains limited, according to the results of a research study commissioned by NXP Semiconductors.

Only about 20% of U.S. consumers have used contactless payment systems such as Apple Pay, Samsung Pay and Android Pay to make retail purchases, according to the study, conducted by market research firm Creative Strategies Inc. By contrast, more than 85% of consumers in Australia and nearly 80% of consumers in the U.K. reported having used contactless payment systems in retail transactions.

A majority of U.S. consumers reported they would use contactless payment for over half their purchases if they knew that form of payment was supported, with 45-59 year olds being the age range to most often use contactless for every single transaction. In contrast, 30-44 year olds in Australia and the UK are the most likely to use contactless for every single purchase.