A third of seniors in SEA anxious making online payments: Kaspersky

• Adults aged 55 above show highest level of trust
• Payment service users experience anxiety in online transactions

Digital payment has emerged to be the leading choice for many consumers in Southeast Asia (SEA) when it comes to conducting their online financial transactions. 

According to Kaspersky, its recent research showed that digital considerations about cybersecurity and payments factor heavily into a consumer’s purchasing behavior in the region.

Titled “Mapping a secure path for the future of digital payments in APAC”, the study discovered that one in five (21%) of digital payment service users in SEA still experience anxiety when performing online transactions.

Among other ages, worry is highest with the oldest group, the silent generation (30%), the company said.

Interestingly, senior citizens are followed by the youngest generation at 27%, it added.

The research highlighted that almost one in five (17%) users in SEA admitted that they would rather pay with cash, wherein the oldest generation again logged the highest percent (20%) among all the age groups.

Adapting to these new technologies can also present a challenge to the silent generation with 20% of them noting difficulties in doing financial transactions online, Kaspersky said.

On the brighter side, nearly a quarter (24%) of all respondents from SEAindicated that they fully trust digital payments, it added.

Sandra Lee, managing director (pic) for Asia Pacific at Kaspersky said the older adults are not from the Internet age, therefore their worries are understandable and should be seen as a precautionary measure towards making costly mistakes in a technology they are still learning to use. 

“It is, however, noteworthy that most of them (26%) do trust digital payment platforms. As they are welcome to adapt to changes, we encourage the younger generation to step forward and assist our older loved ones.

“Community and government awareness and education efforts are also essential,” said Lee.

Given their preference to being careful online, it is not surprising that the oldest generation favors the efficiency of antivirus software the most. 

The research highlighted that more than three in five (61%) of adults aged 55 and above showed the highest level of trust towards security solutions compared with the younger age groups.

While on the average, half of all generations in SEA (50%) understood the need for antivirus software to protect their money and online data, Gen Z showed the least trust at 46%, millennials at 49%, and Gen X at 52%, it added.

Almost a quarter (20%) of all respondents felt that the use of antivirus software was sufficient, followed by 17% where respondents were uncertain or unaware about how antivirus could help them mitigate the risk of financial loss, the survey indicated.

Alarmingly, there are still some 14% who said that antivirus software was not an essential tool in the fight against cyber threats seeking to compromise financial data and property, Kapersky noted.

Lee said the true significance of security solutions should be best understood at present time when we hear about scams and financial frauds, one after another. 

“Cybercriminals understand our habits and emotional states, as they are humans, too.

“We have seen how they are becoming more and more creative in targeting us with their social engineering attacks so we urge all generations to look into safeguarding their devices with the right tools to secure not only their data but most importantly their hard-earned money,” said Lee.

To help the older adults embrace technologies securely while they are online, Kaspersky experts suggest the following:

• Installing, launching, updating and effectively using devices and apps is an issue for some older users. Parental controls are not just for restricting children's activities, they can also be used to simplify things for the older adults;
• Make sure their apps and programs are set to update automatically so they always have the latest and most secure versions;
• Security solutions and practical steps can minimise the risk of falling victim to threats and keeping financial information safe; Therefore, utilise reliable security solutions for comprehensive protection from a wide range of threats;
• Regularly explain to them the essentials of safe internet and cyber hygiene practices;
• Teach them how to keep their password private, only share information with people they know in real life, only connect to home networks when making online transactions, and never click on doubtful links;
• Encourage them to contact you if they have any questions or require assistance in the digital world.

To read the full report, please visit here.