The value of non-cash payments in the US and UK will reach $46 trillion and £1.44 trillion respectively by 2026, new research from global law firm Paul Hastings shows.
In the US, this is a 36% increase on 2016’s figure of $33 trillion, with there being 221 million contactless mobile payment users within a decade.
In the UK, this is a 26% increase on 2016’s figure of £1.14 trillion, with there being 19.1 billion contactless transactions per year within a decade.
The research, conducted in association with the Centre for Economics & Business Research (Cebr) and YouGov, examined current attitudes of businesses and consumers towards alternative payments and their potential use of future payment methods.
Further 2026 forecasts from the UK research include;
- US: 76% of all transactions will be non-cash transactions, up from 63% today; UK: 68% of all transactions will be non-cash transactions, up from 55% today
- US: 82% of businesses will accept alternative payment methods; UK: 74% of businesses will accept alternative payment methods
These findings are contained within the Paul Hastings report “Future of Payments”. The report compares the landscape in the UK and the US, two leading jurisdictions for the Payments sector, highlighting many similarities and several striking differences, such as the significantly more favourable regulatory environment in the UK and European Union.
The research also identified the biggest barriers to growth of payment technology, revealing that 48% of consumers in the US and 53% in the UK said that a reduced risk of fraud is the feature they would most like to see in alternative payment methods – more so than accessibility, customer service or competitive rates of interest.
“We have a fantastic array of new payment methods at our fingertips, whereas once the options were limited to cash, cheques, card, and bank transfer,” says Ben Regnard-Weinrabe, partner in the Global Banking & Payment Systems practice at Paul Hastings.
“You can leave your payment card at home, and pay contactless through Android, Samsung or Apple Pay; if you shop online you may use PayPal, paysafecard or Zapp instead of to MasterCard or Visa; if you want an alternative to your mobile banking app, perhaps you’ll use Money Dashboard or Mint; and for electronic payments that are just like paying by cash – instant and anonymous – bitcoin and other emerging digital currencies are an option.”
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