PayPal tops online payment survey

Friday, December 9, 2011 - 11:44 by Mike Price

Consumers are turning to PayPal when they want to purchase products on the web in greater numbers than ever before, with a recent study suggesting that the company's services are now more popular than using credit cards during safe shopping online.

KPMG questioned a group of 10,000 people from across the world and it found that the secure transfers offered by PayPal are giving it a boost in the polls compared with more traditional methods of payment.

Interestingly, the study also revealed that the UK is a little behind the curve when it comes to mobile banking, with just 27 per cent of Brits managing their money from their smartphones compared to a global average of 52 per cent.

It seems that UK consumers are very sceptical about the levels of protection that are offered when they carry out transactions on their smartphones, with 66 per cent concerned about their payment card information being stolen if they make a purchase.

KMPG spokesperson, Tudor Aw, said that Brits had become increasingly savvy about the dangers which they might face if they shop from their mobile devices, which he said should be addressed by the industry in order to restore trust.

UK consumers were revealed to be particularly in tune with the availability of m-commerce tools which are able to help them combine safe shopping online with their high street activities.

Forty five per cent of those questioned said that they had looked up the location of a shop using their mobiles while a third had browsed the web for product information while out and about. Thirty per cent also said that they had taken advantage of coupon offers on their mobiles.

With significant growth expected during December, the combined force of e-commerce and m-commerce is driving the market forwards.