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More and More Consumers Use Visa to Make Small Purchases
New Survey Reveals Generation “P” Leads Migration To Payment Cards for Purchases under $25
San Francisco, August 24, 2006
Visa USA today reported that its volume on purchases less than $25 in targeted small ticket segments totaled $27.3 billion in the first six months of the year, an increase of 17 percent over the same period in 2005. The double-digit growth indicates that Visa payment cards are increasingly being used instead of cash and checks for everyday purchases less than $25.
According to a new Visa-sponsored survey of 1,154 payment cardholders, more than half (55 percent) of the respondents use payments cards for small ticket items less than $25, citing several reasons for the shift. Consumers are turning to cards for everyday purchases for the convenience (86 percent), ease of use (62 percent), speed (45 percent) and expense management (35 percent) benefits cards offer.
“This significant increase in Visa usage demonstrates consumers’ desire to make more small purchases, from coffee to transit and even laundry, on their payment cards,” says Niki Manby, senior vice president, product innovation. “We’re meeting this demand by giving them more and more places to use their cards. At the same time, we’re helping merchants with traditionally cash-heavy businesses increase sales, enhance their customers’ experiences and improve throughput.”
Visa’s small ticket strategy, expanded earlier this year, has helped accelerate card acceptance and usage at cash-heavy merchants. Visa’s No Signature Required Program has made small ticket payments more convenient for merchants and their customers, by waiving the signature requirement for qualifying transactions less than $25 across 17 merchant categories1. To further encourage acceptance, Visa’s Small Ticket Payment Service offers acquirers decreased credit and debit interchange rates on consumer card transactions of $15 or less in 14 merchant categories2. Visa is also driving speed, convenience and sales to merchants through Visa Contactless, an innovation that makes electronic payments up to 25 percent faster than cash transactions.
Generation P Drives Shift in Purchasing Behavior
Visa’s survey results also revealed that Generation “P” or Plastic, referring to consumers ages 18-25, is leading the trend of increased use of payment cards for everyday purchases. Sixty percent of Generation “P” prefers payment cards for purchases less than $25, particularly in new and emerging segments such as digital content, vending machines, public transportation, parking and newspapers.
“Today’s twenty-somethings are increasingly choosing payment cards for purchases of all sizes – from everyday purchases to big ticket items,” explains Manby. “These consumers have come of age during a time when the immediacy of electronic information, communication and commerce are the norm. Generation P doesn’t remember when ATMs and debit cards didn’t exist; they want quick and easy access to their funds whether they are online or on the go.”
Surging adoption of the Visa check card is also giving rise to the overall use of payment cards for everyday purchases. According to Visa’s latest spending data, 78 percent of all purchases less than $25 made with Visa cards in targeted segments are made with the Visa check card. In Visa’s survey, Generation P-aged respondents said they are more likely to use debit cards than other payment types, and often rely on debit cards linked to a bank account as an expense tracking tool. Generation P primarily uses debit cards for 44 percent of everyday, small purchases, compared to 33 percent of cardholders over 45.
Micropayments are on the Rise
Visa’s survey also examined cardholder behavior for purchasing micropriced goods and services - purchases less than $2 - with credit and debit cards in both online and physical environments. Again, Generation P is at the forefront of the growth in micropayments with 70 percent of consumers ages 18-25 willing to use payment cards for purchases less than $2, compared to only 26 percent of consumers ages 45 and older.
In the past three months alone, one in three Visa survey respondents (35 percent) ages 18-25 have purchased a cup of coffee or tea using a payment card and one in five (22 percent) have purchased digital content. And Generation P would like to have even more places where they can make everyday, small ticket purchases with payment cards, including vending machines (55 percent), highway and bridge tolls (50 percent), parking (46 percent), taxis (47 percent) and public transportation (38 percent).
Adds Manby, “As consumers-at-large, and specifically Generation P, set the tone for the future of payments, Visa is focused on working with its merchant partners to encourage acceptance and develop innovative payment solutions that meet the needs of increasingly tech- and spending-savvy consumers.”
About the Visa Generation P Survey
The Visa Generation P Survey is based on online interviews with 1,154 adult Americans who have a credit or debit card. The survey was conducted from July 24 – 27, 2006 using Survey Sampling International's online consumer panel SurveySpot™. Results of the survey have a margin of error due to sampling of no more than plus-or-minus three percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level.
About Visa USA
Visa USA is the nation’s leading payment brand and largest payment system, enabling banks to provide their consumers and business customers with a wide variety of payment alternatives tailored to meet their evolving needs. Visa USA is committed to increasing the choice, convenience, acceptance and security of Visa payments for all stakeholders in the payment system - members, cardholders and merchants. Through its 13,432 member financial institutions, more than 510 million Visa-branded cards have been issued to cardholders in the United States. Last year, U.S.-based financial institutions relied on Visa’s processing system, VisaNet, to facilitate $1.6 trillion in transactions with unparalleled reliability.
Worldwide, cardholders in more than 150 countries carry more than 1 billion Visa-branded cards, accounting for more than $3 trillion in annual transaction volume.
Visa offers a trusted, reliable and convenient way to access and mobilize financial resources - anytime, anywhere, anyway.
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