Charity collectors and street artists could boost their takings by going contactless as research reveals Brits give twice as much if they use their phones or cards to pay.
The poll, commissioned by Nationwide Current Accounts, shows that those who donate online give an average of £5.47 versus £2.34 for those who give cash. And with nine in ten Brits (91%) claiming they are generous, freeing up new ways to pay could add a significant amount to collection pots.
Nationwide commissioned the survey to highlight the ways in which the nation transacts is rapidly changing, with mobile and contactless payments overtaking cash usage for the first time in May 20151. Many small vendors - from market stalls to delivery drivers - now use the technology to complement cash transactions.
The decline in cash usage can mean those relying on donations - such as charities and street artists - are potentially missing out. The poll highlights that more than half (52%) of those surveyed said that while they wanted to give cash, they didn’t have any loose change when it mattered most.
Nationwide joined forces with housing and homelessness charity Shelter in staging a secret street gig featuring Peter Andre that demonstrated how mobile payments could be put to use.
The launch of mobile payment platforms - Apple Pay, Android Pay and Samsung Pay - now means many have replaced their wallets and purses with their smartphones. Nationwide’s research shows that around a third of people (29%) today view their mobile phone as their most important everyday possession, further demonstrating why many see it as a natural choice for payments. This figure jumps to 54 per cent of those aged 18-24 years old.
This is reflected in Nationwide’s own customer data, which shows a 365 per cent increase in the use of mobile payments during the last year, in line with the Society’s view that smartphones will overtake the use of card payments in the future. This is backed by the research, which shows that Brits, on average, think that smartphones will replace debit cards, credit cards and cash within six years.
While communicating - talking, texting and messaging - remains the top function of smartphones, nearly a third (30%) said that online and mobile banking was the most important functionalities. Two fifths (39%) have used Apple Pay, Android Pay or Samsung Pay on their mobile, with a fifth (19%) claiming they use it regularly.
The most popular place to make mobile payments are (% stating they use it):
1. Supermarket (41%)
2. Restaurant (40%)
3. Cinema (38%)
4. Coffee Shop (38%)
5. Department Store (36%)
Paul Horlock, Nationwide Building Society’s Director of Payments, said: “Mobile phones are increasingly becoming our go-to devices for living our day-to-day lives - helping us navigate, keep abreast on social media and make quick and easy payments.
“Such is the pace of technology that it is perhaps easy to forget than much of the functionality many of us take for granted is less than ten years old. Digital wallets were only introduced in the last few years and now Nationwide members make millions of payments with their phones each and every week, with usage more than trebling in the last year alone.
“Digital payment methods offer both convenience and a greater level of security for our members, so it’s no surprise they are replacing the use of cash. From fingerprint logins and banking apps to mobile wallets, the mobile phone already provides millions of people greater access and control over their finances and we are continually exploring further enhancements as we look to the next wave of innovation.”