From ‘cashless’ to ‘less-cash’ society

Visa Europe has released its first Contactless Barometer to benchmark consumer take-up of new payment methods. The research, of 2,000 UK consumers, showed positive feedback about contactless technology and a hunger for wider availability in mainstream retail outlets. No great surprise there…

Mark Austin, head of contactless at Visa Europe, comments: “We are now taking the first steps on the road to becoming a ‘less-cash’ society. The Barometer offers a snapshot of changing attitudes towards payment technology and consumer experiences of using it on the high street. The two key takeaways for me are the need for retailers to keep pace with consumer demand and also for our industry to take steps to ensure consumers are reassured about the security measures present in all contactless cards.”

The key takeaway for me is that ‘cashless’ society has been replaced by the not so grandiose ‘less-cash’ society . A long overdue recognition by the contactless brigade that, however much they might want it, cash ain’t going away any time soon.

Further info on the Visa Europe research here.

Plan to end cheques under fire

It's not often that I find myself agreeing with our elected officials. Politics is just show business for ugly people, as someone once quipped. But today I make an exception. A Treasury Select Committee has warned banks not to attempt to abandon cheques or deter customers from using them. It has also taken a swipe at the Payments Council and suggested that it be brought under regulatory control.

Andrew Tyrie, chairman of the committee, comments: "The Payments Council is a industry-dominated body with no effective public accountability. It should not have unfettered power to take decisions on matters such as the future of cheques, that are of vital importance to millions of people. Banks have given customers the impression the abolition of cheques was a foregone conclusion. This type of behaviour is unacceptable."

Hear hear!

Follow us on Twitter

Quick shout out for the FStech Twitter page which is updated on a daily basis (news updates, retweets, amusing anecdotes etc etc). A veritable fountain of useful information (if I say so myself!)

You can follow us here.

Stupid, crazy and annoying

Yet more evidence of the power of social media. Disgruntled HSBC customers have been pouring onto Twitter to vent spleen about new handheld devices called 'secure keys' - these have been sent to its four million online bank customers.

HSBC says that the devices provide static and changing security information, ultimately making banking online a lot more secure. But customers have complained about the hassle of setting one up, the inconvenience of carrying it around with them and also that logging into their accounts now takes longer. On Twitter the device has been called ‘stupid’, ‘crazy’ and ‘annoying’, with some claiming they are now switching to other banks.

Twitter has spoken. IMHO, the extra layer of security should be welcomed but is this really the best way to go about it? The calculator does seem like a rather clunky device, out of place in the fast moving world of online banking.

Cash vs cards

A new Barclays/Barclaycard survey says that people prefer plastic. Do we? Their research finds that one in eight shoppers no longer carry cash and half believe coins and notes will become obsolete in the future. So seven in eight still carry cash then?

The findings of that survey are in contrast to research commissioned by retail and banking technology company, Wincor Nixdorf. Their results, published last week, showed that over two thirds of shoppers in the UK believe cash is still king. Of the consumers questioned on behalf of Wincor Nixdorf, 58 per cent save cards purely for large transactions and almost a third felt more in control of their finances when paying by cash.

Nearer the mark, I would say.

Let's go crowdsourcing now...

Well done to first direct for coming up with what must be the banking sector's best yet attempt at crowdsourcing.

first direct Lab will be updated every month with product designs, service innovations and website concepts. Users will have the chance to critique the content with feedback going to the product or service teams before release. At launch, the content will include concepts for a website re-design, a consultation on the use of QR codes and an early version of a mortgage comparison smartphone app. 

You can find the site here. Excellent job!