Paying for goods and services through fingerprint, palm and iris scanners is winning favour with shoppers, according to research from WorldPay. Forty nine per cent of those surveyed said they would like to have biometric payments, outweighing the popularity of emerging mobile technology options.

Thirty per cent would like to use PIN based smartphone payments, 25 per cent online wallets, and 23 per cent are keen on SMS payments. Paying through social media was the least popular choice, with only 12 per cent expressing they would like to use it. Twenty per cent have made a payment of some type through their smartphone, but a higher percentage are using them for research and reporting in-store. Forty five per cent are using it for ‘show-rooming’ (choosing to browse in-store, and shop online later), 45 per cent to check prices, 31 per cent to comment on their shopping experience via social media and 28 per cent to download vouchers and coupons.

Ron Kalifa, deputy chairman at WorldPay, says: “Retailers can help drive mass adoption of new payment technologies by challenging existing shopping behaviours and most importantly, making a compelling case for new payment methods that consumers will understand and buy into. It’s interesting to see the public considering options such as biometric payments, a science that they may have seen in sci-fi films or on TV, which suggests familiarity and visibility of new payment technologies is crucial in moving usage from tech savvy enthusiasts to the wider public. Our research showed that three in four of us shop on auto pilot using cash, card and by paying online, so the industry needs to take greater steps to challenge these behaviours. Additionally, more needs to be done to ensure that ongoing implementation support is provided to retailers, and that staff are educated on new technologies.”

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