Most mobile payment services are used by an average of 4 to 6% more users than last year. The only exception is payment via SMS, which is used by 4% fewer users compared to the last survey. Opportunity for tourism? Yes, absolutely. What are we waiting for? We are still struggling with a good part of restaurants on the Adriatic that only accept cash, let alone have implemented mobile payments. And it is not only restaurants, but also cafes, bakeries, deck chairs for rent, etc.… and all other basic and additional services in the destination. How important and what digitalization means in the tourism sector is also shown by yesterday’s news, how Spanish destinations are introducing the reservation of a place on the beach via a mobile application. A significant majority of respondents (90%) use cards at least occasionally when shopping online, which is the same as in November 2019. However, the frequency of using cards when shopping online decreased by 7% on a monthly basis. In addition, the share of those who use cards when buying online only once or twice in three months (7%) also increased slightly. Debit cards (32%) proved to be the most common method of payment, followed by credit cards (34%) and PayPal (21%). We are satisfied with the level of digitalization in Croatia The results showed that almost three-quarters (71%) of cardholders check their account balance and card charges via mobile phone. Almost the same number (67%) use SMS payments, while 59% use mobile banking. To a lesser extent, card users use payment through the services of teleoperators (26%) and m-wallet (9%). “For many years, the MasterIndex research has provided us with the opportunity to get to know the habits of card users better, and it certainly has added value in this period, which deviates from our usual everyday life and in which we regularly seek answers to many questions. In Croatia, almost all of us still use cards, but although the share of credit card users is growing somewhat, debit cards are still used significantly more. We are also glad to see that the number of users who pay contactlessly is growing, because this is the safest way to pay and our recommendation during the corona crisis, but also after”, Pointed out Helena Šekerija from Mastercard. Furthermore, approximately 70% of respondents have an interest in using online mobile payments, which is practically at the same level as in the previous wave of research from November 2019. Furthermore, most banking users are interested in certain mobile payment methods – 59% for payment by connecting the mobile phone to the POS terminal, and 63% for online card payment via the mobile application. Contactless payment is becoming more and more popular, so as many as nine out of ten of us have and use a contactless card, while a year ago that ratio was eight out of ten. In addition, as many as 60% of cardholders pay contactlessly at least three to five times a week, an increase of 5% over last year. The number of those who pay contactlessly every day is also slightly increasing (+ 2%) and now their share is 23%. Contactless is mostly paid in supermarkets and shopping malls (71%), followed by local shops (17%). Although more and more people pay non-contact, respondents would like such payment to be enabled to an even greater extent, primarily in supermarkets and shops (36%), restaurants and cafes (16%) and public transport (14%). Most of us are satisfied with the level of digitalization in the country, almost all of us use smartphones and cards, and we are more and more inclined to new payment methods such as mobile and contactless, the results of regular MasterIndex research which was conducted for Mastercard by the Improve agency. In addition to the aforementioned data, it is interesting that all types of cards are used on average slightly more among respondents older than 40 years (99%), those with a monthly income of more than HRK 5.500 and among the male population. The results also showed that users have an average of three (2,8) cards, which is the same as last year. Cover photo: Pixabay.com The MasterIndex online survey on the habits of using financial services in Croatia and attitudes towards payment cards was conducted in April 2020 for Mastercard by the market research agency Improve, on a sample of 1.046 users of banking services in Croatia aged 18 to 55. Furthermore, the digital devices most respondents use are smartphones (95%), laptops (83%), personal computers (55%) and smart TVs (54%). Apart from the fact that the largest number of respondents own it and spend an average of five (4,8) hours a day on it, a mobile phone is also a means that respondents would use for payment cards to the greatest extent (71%). To a much lesser extent, they emphasize ID cards or passports (17%) and biometrics (14%) and smart watches (14%). PIN is still the preferred (50%) method of payment authorization, and finger scanning (34%) is also highly preferred. The research also confirmed that the coronavirus pandemic has reduced the number of those planning a holiday in Croatia, but also the more frequent online purchase of food, software and gaming products and the preference for contactless payment as the healthiest. We use mobile payment services more than last year The above-average share of card users is in Zagreb and its surroundings (98%), and the lowest in Lika and in Kordun and Banovina (91%). But now is the opportunity to accelerate development and catch up with all digital trends, in fact, to set global trends ourselves. But in order to be able to plan, we need to know what the current situation is, what are the habits and expectations of consumers in Croatia, when we talk about digital payment. Almost all of us use payment cards Cards are used for various purposes. Almost half (48%) of cardholders withdraw cash from ATMs once or twice a month, over a third (35%) the same number of times a week, while only a few do so more often. On the other hand, cards are used much more regularly to pay at points of sale. Over a quarter (27%) of users use them for this purpose every day. More than a third (35%) do this three to five times a week, and about a quarter (22%) once to twice a week. Research has shown another interesting fact, and that is that internet banking is no longer the most common way to pay bills – it is now mobile banking with 51% of users compared to 42% of e-banking users. Growth of mobile banking The crisis caused by the epidemic, among other things, has shown that it is high time for digitalization, and in the recovery period the smart state will embrace digitalization in the true sense. Also, digitalization will be a term that will be most often used in the tourism sector, and in Croatia, in my personal opinion, we are lagging behind digital trends. Contactless payment is viewed more and more positively – as many as 82% of card users consider it really fast and easy, and 61% definitely intend to use it more often in the future. In addition, this method of payment is considered the safest when it comes to health and hygiene. As many as 71% of cardholders firmly believe that contactless payment is the healthiest, and another 20% have a similar opinion. In a period when great attention is paid to the cleanliness of sales areas and hand hygiene, such a dominant attitude on this issue may not be a big surprise, but it is certainly a clear indicator of consumer preferences. As many as 85% of respondents are satisfied with the level of digitalization in the country, which is an increase of 3% compared to November 2019 and the continuation of this positive trend. However, a significant number of respondents still want to see more innovation and digital services in health (70%), public administration (54%), education (50%) and the judiciary (27%). When it comes to personal use of digital services, in the first place is the mobile phone with the Internet and online chat (89%), followed by online shopping (81%), e-mail (80%) and social networks (79%) and Internet search engines (77 %). These services are also most used on a daily basis, with the exception of online shopping which most respondents make on a monthly basis. But someone has to lead the development strategy of digitalization of our tourism, both from the national narrative and from the destination. And that is where we unfortunately fall. 9 out of 10 pay us contactless, we are increasingly using mobile payment The increase in the use of mobile banking for this purpose is as much as 12% compared to last year, and the share (16%) of those who pay their bills exclusively in physical branches is still not negligible. The main obstacle to paying bills online is the habit of paying in cash (50%). Most of us use online shopping cards and m-banking to pay bills As many as 9 out of 10 pay us contactlessly
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