[eMarketer] UK consumers shun physical wallets in favor of contactless and mobile payments

More than three-quarters (77%) of consumers in the UK have swapped their physical wallets for mobile payments, according to Marqeta research.

96% of surveyed consumers used contactless payments in the last year. 61% of consumers feel confident enough with contactless payments to leave their wallet at home and just take their phone—that figure rises to 77% for Gen Zers.

64% prefer to use their mobile phones to pay because it has more built-in security features. Consumers are also open to cryptocurrency use as a payment method: 26% of those surveyed own crypto, and 82% of them are keen to use it like a debit card at the point-of-sale.

eMarketer posits that despite quickly growing mobile wallet demand, cash preservation is still top of mind in the UK. 

The UK government has taken many steps in the past year to ensure that the more than 5 million adults in the UK who rely on cash as their primary payment method retain accessibility. Most recently, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) was granted new powers to ensure UK citizens retain the ability to access cash.

Read the full eMarketer article here

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