Nearly two-thirds of consumers in Ireland now make contactless payments with a mobile phone, smartwatch or other device (65%) at least once a month compared with an average of just over half of consumers in other countries (55%), a survey has found.

The survey — which compared attitudes to and behaviour around different on- and offline payment methods in 14 countries — also found that 63% of Irish consumers prefer to make cashless in-store payments compared with an average of 54% in the other countries.

Irish respondents were also more likely to say that they appreciate the security that electronic payments offer (45%) than in other countries (37%).

“While recent data has demonstrated that accelerated payment habits during the Covid-19 pandemic have stuck, we now see how Ireland has progressed to being a leading adopter of cash alternatives compared to other counties,” the researchers say.

“Irish consumers are more inclined to pay by card, virtual wallet or online across a range of situations including grocery shopping, eating out, at the fuel pump, at public institutions and for entertainment.

“The availability of card and contactless facilities also impact consumer perception of businesses with people living in Ireland perceiving businesses with card and/or online payment options as being more modern (82%) and customer-centric (74%).

“Only 3% of people surveyed do not use card or digital payments in any situation. This is half the average across the other countries surveyed (6%).”

The survey was conducted by payment services provider BOIPA with more than 8,000 consumers in Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Mexico, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain and the UK in March 2022.

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