Research conducted by Mastercard has revealed that 40% of people intend to use cryptocurrency for payments in the next year. The report Consumer Appetite for Digital Payments Takes Off published earlier this week, took the results from over 15,000 people from 18 different countries to see what the relationship towards cryptocurrency is.
According to the results, a whopping 93% of people will consider using emerging payments, including cryptocurrency, biometrics, contactless, or QR code, in the next year. Of the respondents, 63% have tried a new payment method that they might not have under “normal” circumstances. The pandemic seems to have pushed users to new flexibility for payments with safety and security as the priority. Now, more than half of consumers will avoid businesses that do not transact with electronic payments of any kind, according to the respondents in the research.
Consumers open to cryptocurrency
The study revealed that millennials are the most active in cryptocurrency, with 67% of consumers in the age group admitting that they are more open to using cryptocurrency to make payments compared to this time last year. With this, nearly 80% of millennial consumers are interested in learning about cryptocurrency to understand them better. 75% of the respondents noted that they would be more open to using cryptocurrency if they understood more about them and how they worked.
This report comes just a few months after Mastercard’s move to crypto adoption. In February, the payments platform noted that it would be supporting digital currency payments at more than 30 million merchants and stores across the world, offering digital payments to nearly one billion Mastercard users.
On the topic, Craig Vosburg, Chief Product Officer at Mastercard said:
“The pandemic made us think differently, partly out of necessity. To deliver the choice and flexibility that consumers need – and increasingly expect –retailers worldwide need to offer a range of payment solutions that are easy to access and always on. As we look ahead, we need to continue to enable all choices, both in-store and online, to shape the fabric of commerce and make the digital economy work for everyone.”