Results of the latest international study ‘Attitudes towards payment methods’ commissioned by eService and other EVO Group entities reveal that almost 7 out of 10 Poles declare to pay electronically due to speed and convenience. Visa is a partner of the study, in the Central Eastern European region, including Poland.
The study shows that while shopping 62% of Polish consumers tend to pay for purchases in traditional stores with electronic payments, e.g. with a payment card. The top reason for choosing cash is when digital payments are unavailable at a given store or service point. That's the view of 23% of respondents who often pay with cash. It is worth noting that electronic payments dominate as a Poles preferred payment method for both in-store and online shopping. More than half of respondents paid for their last in-store purchase with a card or using phone, smartwatch or other device. When asked a similar question about their last online purchase, only 9% of respondents answered they paid cash on delivery.
“We have been conducting the ‘Attitudes Towards Forms of Payment’ Survey periodically for five years now. Initially, it concerned only Poland - now it covers already 14 countries, not only Europe. The results allow us to track how the preferred form of money is changing before our eyes. Just as the exchange of products was once replaced by a more universal invention such as coin money and later paper money, it is now being replaced by even more convenient and safer electronic money. We observe the dynamics of this process in various countries, among which there are more advanced - e.g. Poland, the Czech Republic, Ireland or the UK, as well as some where the evolution of payments is only just accelerating. However, everywhere it is clear that electronic payments have become an important part of the development of the economy and digital society.” said Joanna Seklecka, President of the Board, eService.
GOING DIGITAL MAKES STORES MORE ACCESSIBLE FOR CONSUMERS
The study results show that stores which offer electronic payment methods are clearly perceived in a positive way by Polish consumers – as many as 80% of respondents believe they are modern and 76% of them think they are customer-centric. There is still a room for electronic payments development in Poland. When responders from Poland have been asked to recall the last time they wanted to pay by card but couldn’t, 28% of them could not find such option in store. Based on the survey results, electronic payments are unavailable mainly at markets and bazaars (37%). In addition, it sometimes happens that a card option is not available when paying hairdresser, beautician or builder.
“Our economy and prosperity relies on SMBs. To remain competitive and thrive in the globalised digital economy, they must make sure to offer the payment methods that their customers prefer. SMBs need expert support to navigate fast-changing environment. They have to know what solutions are available to them that can help them fulfil electronic payments, so they can meet the needs of their customers quickly, conveniently, and securely. That is why Visa helps SMBs make the most of getting online and supports the SMB community through digital enablement and upskilling programmes. We believe that when SMBs succeed, everyone benefits.” said Katarzyna Zubrzycka, Head of Merchant Sales and Acquirers CEE, Visa.
Polish consumers would like to be able to pay digitally everywhere, and these expectations developed during the COVID-19 pandemic, so the initiatives helping small and micro businesses go digital are even more important now. One of such initiatives supported by Visa is the Cashless Poland Program which aims to expand the cashless payments acceptance network by financing payment terminals for entrepreneurs and other entities accepting payments. It is equally important to support businesses in their transition to e-commerce – as the study shows 3 out of 10 Poles made their last payment online.
DREAMS AND REALITY – HOW POLES DEAL WITH MONEY
The study findings show that money gives to Poles a sense of independence and freedom of choice, enabling comfortable life. The research results also confirmed the trend of great popularity of electronic banking in our country. Usually, Poles prefer to contact the bank remotely – 75% of respondents use internet banking at least 2-3 times per month and 68% of Polish consumers use their mobile banking just as often. They perceive the banking services as a way to manage their money. Poles control and plan their expenses, based on the simple principle of not spending money impulsively.
To gain a better understanding of Poles attitudes towards money and how they may change, the researchers divided the respondents into six segments:
- Sceptics – they do not like to invest or deal with money and they do not trust institutions, it's better for them to keep money at home.
- Economical – they need to plan their expenses carefully. It happens that they almost immediately spend all the money they get. They have a limited budget and they are focused on surviving.
- Affluent – they control their money and expenses, but money is only a means towards a goal – they have it, but they don't have to think about it all the time and worry about it.
- Kings of life – they spend cash quickly on what they want, without control – after all, they are Kings of Life.
- Dreamers – they would like to have a lot, but so far they do not have much, they do not manage money seriously.
- Optimal – they consciously manage their money – they use promotional offers, plan they expenses and invest capital. They value the freedom of choice, so they do not reject any form of payment.
In Poland the affluent type prevails (24%), which means money is important for majority of Poles, but they neither like to think about it, talk about it nor deal with it. At the same time they control their expenses well. Second most popular segment in Poland are the optimal (20%), whilst the least popular one is the economical (9%).
ABOUT THE STUDY
The international survey ‘Attitudes toward payment methods’ was commissioned by EVO Payments International and conducted by ARC Rynek i Opinia research institute in March 2022 using CAWI methodology (respondents were invited to take part in an internet survey) on the representative sample of each country's population aged 18-65 – a total of 8,931 respondents. The data was collected across 14 countries (Poland, Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Croatia, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Germany, Ireland, United Kingdom, Mexico, Spain, Portugal). Visa is a partner of the study across eight Central Eastern European countries, including Poland. The general aim of the study was to collect information about people’s attitudes and behaviour towards different payment methods.
The report can be downloaded from www.eservice.pl/badania
