Some 14% of Canadian consumers say they are highly interested in making in-store mobile payments and 11% are also interested in using a wearable device such as a smartwatch to do so, research from payment services supplier Tsys has revealed.

NFC was voted by 16% as the most appealing way to make an in-store mobile payment, followed by QR codes and barcodes with 12%, and the ability to push a button on their device to complete the payment by 4%. However, 68% said they do not want to use their phone to make an in-store mobile payment.

Just over one in five of the 1,200 respondents surveyed for the Tsys 2015 Canadian Consumer Payment Choice Study also said they are highly interested in keeping their loyalty and rewards cards on their phone, and 17% are highly interested in receiving instant offers and promotions sent directly to their device from the store they are visiting.

The most popular feature for 29% of consumers is the ability to use their phone to immediately stop a transaction that was not made by them, 25% would like to view their debit or credit card transactions using their mobile device, while 19% are highly interested in transferring money to another using their mobile phone.

Additionally, 17% are highly interested in the ability to use their phone to switch their payment cards on and off depending on the type of store they want them to be used in, while 15% would like the ability to turn their payment card on and off based on the time of day.

The study also revealed:

• 13% are highly interested in storing their government issued identification, such as a driver’s licence, on their mobile phone;
• 13% are highly interested in using their mobile phone to change a PIN code on their debit or credit card;
• 16% of Canadians use their mobile banking app daily, 24% at least a few times a week, a further 24% use it a few times a month, and 11% have used it once;
• Nearly 50% of survey respondents are willing to receive coupons or special offers based on the information their bank collects about their purchase behaviour;
• 46% prefer to pay using their credit cards more than any other payment method, up from 34% in 2014.

“Consumers have more payment options than ever before due to the continuing proliferation of new technology and non-traditional companies entering the payments industry,” says John Dale Hester from Tsys.

“Our goal from this survey is to provide relevant information to help our clients with their payment strategies and to create a useful reference tool for other participants in the Canadian payments industry.”

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