Digital payments, online shopping rising trend with Singapore seniors: Visa

• A quarter of seniors have shopped online in last 12 months compared to 25% in 2018
• Half of seniors intend to stick to digital payment even after pandemic ends

Seniors in Singapore are turning to online shopping and digital payments due to Covid-19, with more than one-third (36%) having shopped online in the past 12 months, compared to one in four in 2018, according to Visa’s Digital Inclusion Research 2021.

In a statement, Visa said seniors are also using e-commerce to purchase a variety of essential and non-essential goods with top online purchase categories including clothing (69%), food and groceries (68%), and household or cleaning products (63%). 

It added that convenience (79%), ease of use (64%) and the ability to shop from the comfort of their homes (63%) have encouraged greater e-commerce usage amongst this segment of Singaporeans.

The survey indicated that nearly one-third of Singapore seniors (30%) are also more likely to shop online than visit physical stores.

This is a positive reflection of more seniors joining the shift towards digital-first experiences, with the pandemic accelerating digital adoption due to safe-distancing measures and hygiene concerns, it said.

“It’s encouraging to see more of Singapore’s seniors start to embrace digital payments even if it’s as a result of the pandemic,” said Kunal Chatterjee, Visa country manager for Singapore and Brunei.

He said while many seniors in Singapore are now aware and using digital payments, there is still further opportunity to change the behaviour of those who have not embarked on this journey.

“We recognise the importance of educating our seniors so that they too can benefit from seamless and secure digital payment experiences.”

Based on the study, a significant number of seniors in Singapore are aware of a variety of digital payment methods, particularly contactless card payments (90%), QR code payments (67%) and mobile contactless payments (56%). 

For contactless cards, familiarity also translates to high usage with over two-thirds of seniors in Singapore (68%) having used contactless card payments, the poll noted.

The study indicated that almost one-third (31%) of them have used mobile contactless payments, and one in five (22%) have used QR code payments, it said.

It also noted that those who use digital payments are motivated by faster transactions, widespread acceptance, ease of use and security of transactions. 

Greater reassurance around transaction speed, transaction safety and fraud prevention, it added, will help to encourage greater usage of card payments among seniors in Singapore. 

According to the survey, nearly two in five Singapore seniors (37%) cited a preference for going to shops that accept digital payment methods over those that only accept cash, while half (50%) intend to stick to digital payment methods even after the pandemic ends.

Visa also noted that mobile banking apps have seen significant growth since 2018.

As such some 85% of seniors in Singapore are aware of mobile banking apps, while more than half (55%) are users, compared to 31% three years ago, it said.

Among users of mobile banking apps, over four in five (81%) cite frequent use and great comfort in using such apps, the survey noted

The research indicates that seniors use mobile banking apps most frequently for checking their account balances (97%), viewing their transactions (96%) and transferring money to other people (81%).

With digital banks set to reshape Singapore’s financial services space, nearly one in four seniors are interested in digital banking whilst more than half (51%) are open to moving a few or some services to digital banks. 

Resistance is largely linked to habit, with two-thirds of seniors in Singapore (66%) being used to visiting physical bank branches.

Seniors also require assurance on the security (42%) and reliability (33%) of digital banking transactions, the study indicated.