Asia-Pacific Consumers Embrace Electronic Payments Than Paying Cash

KUALA LUMPUR, March 16 (Bernama) -- Visa's second annual Cash Access Survey, conducted across Asia-Pacific, shows the region's cash culture is going through a revolution, as consumers in Malaysia and across the region embrace the convenience of electronic payments and accessing cash abroad with their cards. Visa said Malaysian travellers overseas point-of-sale (POS) spending on visa debit cards grew by 82 per cent last year from 2010, while 18 per cent of them used their visa debit cards to access cash from overseas auto-teller machines (ATMs) when abroad. It also said overall Asia-Pacific travellers' spending on visa debit at overseas POS grew by 28 per cent, while 31 per cent of respondents used their cards to access cash from overseas ATMs. "Malaysian travellers are increasingly finding comfort in carrying less cash when they travel abroad as 28 per cent see overseas ATMs as a key source of emergency cash when needed, and 21 per cent also liked the added feeling of safety of not having to carry too much cash around," it said in a statement. "With international travel expected to double over the next 15 years, using payment cards and having easy access to cash while overseas will be a core enabler in making the process more enjoyable for travellers," it said. Malaysia Visa Country Manager Stuart Tomlinson said the survey results showed electronic payments in Asia are on the upward trend. "Consumers are increasingly using payment cards when they travel. Cultural values across Asia are shifting away from cash towards payment cards and that is giving consumers new ways to manage their money. "For example, consumers today are using their visa debit cards when overseas," he said. INSEAD Business School and Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania Marketing Professor, Klaus Wertenbroch, said consumers are able to enjoy the convenience and safety of not carrying large amounts of cash with them when they use electronic payments as they travel. "My research shows consumers like to use debit cards especially to pay for large ticket items such as vacations and travel because debit cards allow them to better budget their expenses. The survey field work was conducted from July 18 to Aug 24, 2011 by Nielsen Online Panels with 3,073 online interviews. Target respondents included overseas travellers during the past 12 months departing from the 10 APAC countries: Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Taiwan, South Korea and India. -- BERNAMA