86% of respondents said a loyalty programme is an important factor in making their purchasing decisions – daVinci Payments reports

The study, named ‘Future of Payments UK’, shows a continued desire for instant payment methods and a growing prevalence of loyalty programmes.

The top findings and trends are:

Contactless payments are becoming more mainstream. Although physical cards are still the preferred choice of payment, the study found that mobile wallets and payment apps have been gaining mass popularity.

• more than 50% of consumers in the UK say that 75% or more of their payments are now contactless.

• the use of mobile wallets and payment apps linked to a credit, debit, or prepaid card for in-person payments continues to rise in prevalence in the UK – with more than 50% having received payments via payment apps and more than 20% via mobile wallets in the last six months.

• payment app usage also continues to rise in popularity for online payments and is now a payment preference of choice for 38% of consumers.

An increasing amount of people care about instant payments and rewards:

• 52% of the respondents prefer receiving a virtual card rather than a physical one mailed to their home.

• 40% prefer receiving an instant payment, such as a prepaid card, for cash back rewards as opposed to a bank account payment, which takes 2 day to process.

• 56% would opt for an instantly received virtual prepaid card rather than a physical one that needs to be mailed to them, for cash back rewards.

As both incentivising consumers and offering prepaid cards can spur repeat purchases, the following study results highlight the growing prevalence of loyalty programmes, as they can appeal to consumers and increase revenue.

• 86% of respondents said a loyalty programme is an important factor in making their purchasing decisions.

• 40% reported participating in 4 or more loyalty programmes.

• consumers overwhelmingly prefer receiving a prepaid card that can be spent anywhere to convert loyalty points for payment over receiving a gift card for a specific retailer or a cheque.

• if they received a prepaid card for a loyalty programme reward, 52% prefer to receive a physical card and 48% prefer a virtual prepaid card sent to them via email or text.