Carried out on 2,000 consumers, Smart machine provider Vianet found that “one in three people believe their preferred method of payment for vending will change in the next six months – with all age groups stating card payment would be their new favourite.”
The news follows Barclaycard’s latest Contactless Spending Index, which states that consumers aged 60 and over have the “fastest-rising acceptance” of touch-and-go payments - the number of users up 116% in 2016, more than any other age group.
Managing director at Vianet, Matt Lane said: “The rapid shift from cash to contactless amongst customers who have grown up with cash cannot be ignored. This group have an affinity with tangible notes and coins, but are still switching to contactless, which speaks volumes.
“With the UK Card Association predicting that 50% of debit card transactions will be contactless by 2026, usage of touch-and-go amongst all ages is only going to rise. In recognition of this, operators and associations across all industries are targeting all ages and adapting their payment systems to cater for contactless. Even the Church of England has started trialling contactless readers for collections.
“The statistics and insight clearly show that contactless payment is an anomaly in the tech world, with widespread adoption across all age groups and industries. Now is the time for vending operators to embrace it, smooth the customer journey and attract more custom by providing a contactless payment option.”