Top managers of the company shared internal statistics on cashless dynamics in the European and Ukrainian markets during the pandemic, as well as data from the MasterIndex study on the preferences of our compatriots in this area.
Ukraine is very progressive in the development of cashless technologies. Cashless payments have already become a persistent habit of Ukrainians. Half of users are ready to completely abandon cash payments.
Inga Andreeva, General Director of Mastercard in Ukraine and Moldova
The survey was conducted by InMind commissioned by Mastercard in June 2021. It was attended by 1507 respondents aged 18-60 years, who live in cities with a population of over 50,000 people. Let’s see what we have here.
40.8 million, 30% and 38%
These are three, at first glance, paradoxical figures. The first is the number of active cards in Ukraine. The second is the proportion of the adult population that does not have a bank account. The third is the share of small and medium-sized businesses, which provide their consumers with the possibility of cashless payments.
78%
So many non-cash payments in Ukraine already “pass” contactlessly. Although a couple of years ago, this figure was at the level of 30%. “In 35 European markets, we see an increase in the penetration of non-contact. Over the past year, an average of 10%. Ukraine has grown by 17%. One of the key incentives is hygiene, which comes first during a pandemic.
It is interesting that last year 30% of our compatriots tried to pay with a contactless card for the first time.
49%
So many Ukrainians are ready to give up with cash in the nearest future. For comparison, 17% of Europeans have already done this during a pandemic.
37%
For so many Ukrainians, NFC is already the most preferred payment method. “By the number of NFC payments, Ukraine is consistently among the top European countries.
From month to month, we see a steady increase in the involvement of new users in Google Pay and Apple Pay services. Today, there are already millions of customers using NFC in Ukraine. We assume that in the near future the number of tokenized cards in our country will reach 10 million.
Yuriy Batkhin, Vice President for Business Development of Mastercard in Ukraine and Moldova
Interestingly, Ukrainians prefer to pay not only with smartphones with NFC.
Ukraine is in the top 3 European countries in terms of the number of payments with wearable devices (smart watches, fitness bracelets, etc.). This segment grows by 25% monthly. There are very few niches showing such growth rates.
Yuriy Batkhin, Vice President for Business Development of Mastercard in Ukraine and Moldova
More than 90%
So many POS terminals in Ukraine accept contactless payments. The Ukrainian market approached the pandemic prepared: before the lockdown, we had a high level of penetration of modern equipment. Over the past 5 years, the number of POS terminals has doubled. The figure seems to be impressive, but if we compare it with European statistics, we have somewhere to run. In Ukraine 9.6 terminals per thousand of population, in Europe – 30.
38–40%
This is how much cashless payments for food, electronics and furniture in Ukraine increased during the pandemic. For comparison: on average in European countries, cashless growth in the food segment was 26%, electronics – 24%, furniture – 16%. These niches in Europe have become leaders in positive dynamics. According to the statistics, the Ukrainians have gone into repairs. If ukrainians have free time, they have to change something in the house.
8%
So many respondents avoid stores where you can only pay in cash. “The pandemic prompted small and medium-sized businesses to think that the consumer will choose another coffee shop, hairdresser or store if it is not possible to pay for the purchase by card.
61%
So many Ukrainians would like to pay cashless in the markets. Top expectations also include cashless payments on public transport, hairdressers, taxis, educational institutions and even on beaches.
66%
The number of online payments in Ukraine increased by that much in the first quarter of 2021 compared to the same period in 2020. The leaders in the dynamics of purchases in e-commerce were sporting goods (an increase of 7.5 times) and goods for the home and interior (4.5 times).
The trend of the last year is the emergence of new unexpected categories. For example, food retail has doubled. Online payment has also skyrocketed in courier delivery, taxis, etc. I think we will remain in this changed paradigm after the pandemic. Consumers will increasingly wonder why waste time commuting to a store when they can quickly order groceries through the app.
Yuriy Batkhin, Vice President for Business Development of Mastercard in Ukraine and Moldova
39%
So many Ukrainians in the future want to pay by scanning a QR code with a smartphone. 17% dream of paying with a voice assistant. Also, respondents are interested in paying with cryptocurrencies and using smart household appliances.