Contactless payments soar as consumers embrace tap-to-pay and digital wallets
Contactless payments are surging in popularity, with over half of Standard Bank's customers now opting to tap their cards or phones at supermarkets, restaurants, and fuel stations. As merchants increasingly adopt this technology and digital wallets become more popular, contactless payments have risen to account for 53% of all transactions, up from 42% just two years ago.
Standard Bank recorded the most significant growth in 2023, with the value of contactless payments increasing by 37%. This year alone, the growth has continued with an additional 14% rise. The trend spans across all income brackets, with Standard Bank noting double-digit year-on-year increases in tap-to-pay transactions among both middle and high-income clients. Notably, some client segments have shown an organic inclination to contactless payments, with 81% using this method regularly.
"For credit card users, the shift to contactless payments is even more pronounced, with over 60% of their transactions using this method," says the Head of Credit at Standard Bank, Tumelo Ramugondo. "Consumers are becoming more accustomed to the tap functionality, and it’s becoming increasingly entrenched among merchants across various industries."
While essentials like groceries, fuel, and utilities still dominate transaction categories, there's a growing trend of discretionary spending through tap-to-pay. Standard Bank has reported a notable 23% year-on-year increase in contactless payments at clothing and footwear retailers this year, reflecting the expanding use of this convenient payment method.
Growth in digital wallets fuelling tap-to-pay
The value of transactions paid via digital wallets like to devices like Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, Garmin Pay and Google Pay increased by more than 65% year-on-year at the end of August. Digital wallet transactions now comprise 13% of all Standard Bank’s contactless payments transactions – up from 4% two years ago.
“Interestingly, while Apple Pay remains the dominant digital wallet, we have seen increased adoption of our own digital card wallet, SBG Mobile with transaction volumes growing nearly threefold year-on-year,” says Ramugondo.