A recent survey conducted by The LHoFT in association with The Payments Association EU looked at payments in the Grand Duchy, examining how Luxembourg consumers pay, the basis on which they make their choices and how they envisage future payment behaviour. Among the many interesting findings was a significant rise in mobile payments and a general openness to embracing future innovations.
No less than 58 % of survey participants said they preferred mobile solutions for payments. Payment methods such as Digicash/Payconiq thus scored significantly better than, for example, direct debit, payment platforms such as Paypal or payment wallets like Apple Pay. “The penetration of mobile payment in Luxembourg puts the country at par with the most advanced countries in Europe. Obviously, the historical player – DigiCash (Payconiq) – did a great job in evangelizing local consumers and merchants”, says Thibault de Barsy, Vice-Chairman & General Manager at The Payments Association EU.
What makes users choose a particular payment method?
After the two main attributes of security and privacy and protection of personal data, ease of use was named as the third most important criterion for a payment method. It is particularly striking that 55% among users of mobile payment solutions state it to be a top attribute. 51% of them also specified that speed is a desirable factor for choosing a payment method. On the other hand, 60 % of respondents with an income of up to 8,000 euros per month said that fees are a decisive criterion for choosing a payment method.
What is the expected future use of mobile payment solutions in Luxembourg?
In the next 12 months, around 46% of respondents expect a further increase in the use of mobile payment solutions. Nearly all of the remaining participants believe that the use of mobile payment solutions will at least remain stable. Jérôme Verony, Research and Strategy Manager at the LHoFT notes: “A key question for business leaders is whether behavioural changes associated with, or driven by, the pandemic are set to last, or whether we will see a reversion to the mean. These forward-looking data points support the notion that gains made by more advanced solutions such as mobile payment platforms, will not be eroded and may in fact continue to gain ground in the marketplace as the sanitary situation stabilises.”
“When we founded Digicash, we were more than convinced that the advanced technology of smartphones would have a strong disruptive potential in the payments sector. Accordingly, we wanted to ensure that end users could easily integrate our solution into their daily lives and that they had confidence in the service,” recalls Jonathan Prince, co-founder and CSO of Finologee. “Given end users’ increasing openness to contactless payment methods and their desire for speed, ease of use and efficiency, demand for mobile payment solutions will inevitably continue to grow – especially in the face of the pandemic.”
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Editor’s note: This article is brought to you by Finologee and reflects only the opinion of the author.
Before launching FInologee in 2017, Finologee’s founders – Raoul Mulheims, Georges Berscheid and Jonathan Prince – co-founded Digicash Payments in 2012. The company was operating with a full EU payment institution license. Digicash became the Luxembourg banks’ mobile payment product, with 5 issuing banks and close to 50% of the population using the app today. In 2017, the company was acquired by Payconiq, the Belgian/Dutch mobile payment operator backed by ING Group and KBC Group. Today, Finologee provides technical operations and development services to Payconiq-issuing banks (issuing platform and mobile Apps).
