Can people over 50 understand contactless payments? Your Contactless Intelligence Weekly News Review

Can people over 50 understand contactless payments?

Sounds stupid, doesn’t it? I first read the piece of research from Saga Group (the UK-based company specialising in holidays and insurance for the 50+ age market) with a bit of a grin.  It sounded so stupid and had nothing to do with me. That is until a few people in the office pointed out that I would soon (very soon) be in that age range, making me leap from amusement to outrage. How dare they make a thing about over-50s and their contactless card usage!

It’s not bad, though - Saga say that rather than paying with traditional cash, the research found that 19% of over-50s are embracing the technology by paying with contactless up to three times a week. The survey also showed that more than 4 out of 10 people aged between 80 and 89 have used their contactless card. While many over-50s said they like the way that using contactless speeds up their checkout payments, 31% appreciate not having to carry cash with them and 24% like not having to remember a PIN number to key in.

However, 7 out of 10 people said they worry about the security of contactless credit or debit cards. Though I think that in this day and age that’s perfectly normal and hardly age-related. 

Paul Green, director of communications at Saga, said, "Contactless cards are making it easy for people to buy their morning coffee or lunchtime snack. And it's clear the over-50s are seeing the benefit of not having to carry cash or worry about remembering their Pin. But people should use their contactless card wisely and only buy things they really need with it as it can be easy to get a bit too tap-happy with your bank or credit card. Keeping an eye on your bank account can help you keep your spending in check and stop you from worrying about the security of contactless cards."

As surveys go though, at least this one had a large number of people taking part - more than 6,000 in this case, rather than the paltry 200 - 300 groups we see in a so many of these research pieces. 

Another number that took me a little by surprise this week was the news that 21% of payment transactions at Starbucks are completed over a smartphone. The successes that the coffee chain has seen has propelled it to the top of the mobile payments list, making the company the example for the way that mobile technology can be used to boost business and raise customer engagement. It has managed to accomplish this goal more effectively than any other company in the food and beverage service marketplace. It is precisely this message that was being shared along with the announcement from execs that the company had met the expectations of analysts for its fiscal fourth quarter earnings report. It reached a record breaking revenue of $4.9 billion, with profits of about $969 million.

The mobile ordering option was rolled out in the U.S. last December. This allowed consumers to be able to skip the line by placing their coffee orders in advance through the app on their smartphone. By September, the feature reached all 7,400 stores across the country. The feature has since been making its way into additional markets with tests being launched in Canada and the United Kingdom.

According to Strabucks execs, there have already been five million monthly transactions completed by customers who have been using the Mobile Order & Pay feature. President of North American operations for Starbucks, Cliff Burrows, explained that “It has been incredible to see the adoption by customers across the country,” adding that “With each wave that we launch, the ramp rate has been quicker for adoption.”

It’s clear that even beyond mobile payments, Starbucks is leading the way in customer engagement and in revenue generation by way of customers smartphones. Now I look forward to the Saga report confirming that people over 50 can also use their mobiles to make payments. Although perhaps for a nice cup of tea and a good sit-down, in our case!

Until next time,

Steve Atkins
Contactless Intelligence