First Data Survey Finds Consumers Want Variety of Electronic Payment Choices

“This year's study makes it clear that offering a variety of electronic payment options can help retailers and financial institutions win new customers, increase revenue and enhance customer retention,” said Debra Janssen, president of First Data Debit Services. “It's important for companies to support various types of secure electronic transaction – from PIN-secured debit to credit to check electronification – to provide comprehensive payment solutions for clients.”

The 2005 survey data also points to the continued growth of electronic payments at the POS. Nearly half of consumers surveyed (47 percent) prefer the PIN-secured method, compared to 30 percent who prefer the signature-based method. Survey respondents largely cite increased security as the number one reason for choosing to use their PIN numbers to make purchases (46 percent).

More than five out of every six ATM/debit cardholders surveyed had used their ATM/debit card at an ATM or at the POS at least once in the 30 days prior to the survey. In addition to debit, whose popularity is especially strong among cardholders between the ages of 21 and 54, consumers continue to use other electronic payments options regularly as well. Twenty-nine percent of non-debit users surveyed say credit cards are their preferred means of payments, up 11 percent over 2003. Debit users are the least likely to pay with check, while non-users still report that they wrote an average of three checks per month at retail.

“The research shows that consumers prefer to make PIN-secured payments at the POS. STAR is addressing this preference by working with merchants to PIN-enable new types of retail outlets such as quick service restaurants, movie theaters, newspaper stands, laundries and parking facilities,” added Janssen. “By offering a comprehensive electronic payments solution to our customers, financial institutions and retailers of all sizes can offer choice to their customers.”