UK Consumers Lag as Small Businesses Embrace Digital Wallets for Cross-Border Payments

While digital wallets are gaining traction globally, a surprising divide has emerged in the United Kingdom. Businesses rapidly adopt digital wallets for international transactions, but consumers lag. This raises a critical question: Why aren’t more consumers embracing these wallets if they offer such efficiency? The answer lies in consumers’ lack of awareness and knowledge, hindering widespread adoption. Overcoming this hurdle is crucial to unlocking the potential of seamless, fast and universally accepted cross-border payments.

Younger generations are driving the shift to digital wallets, with familiarity linked to adoption. While speed and widespread adoption encourage many consumers to use the payment method, significant barriers remain.

For “Global Money Movement: U.K. Edition,” PYMNTS Intelligence and TerraPay collaboration, we surveyed 4,559 consumers and 103 business leaders in the U.K. to examine the current digital wallet landscape for cross-border payments.

In this data brief on U.K. digital wallet use:

• Explore the current level of familiarity with digital wallets among U.K. consumers and businesses compared to traditional payment methods.
• Discover why younger generations lead the adoption of these wallets for cross-border payments while older generations remain hesitant.
• Dig into the key reasons why U.K. consumers and businesses are likely to start using digital wallets, with a focus on speed and widespread acceptance.
• Uncover the most significant barriers preventing U.K. consumers and businesses from adopting these wallets, including lack of awareness and security concerns.
• Learn about strategies financial institutions and payment providers can implement to bridge the awareness gap and promote using digital wallets for cross-border transactions.

“Global Money Movement: U.K. Edition” reveals that while merchants are comfortable with digital wallets, consumer knowledge is uneven, impacting the competition with better-known payment methods. By addressing the barriers and prioritizing consumer education, these wallets can redefine cross-border transactions, making them more efficient and inclusive for businesses and consumers in the U.K.

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“Global Money Movement: U.K. Edition” is based on a survey of 4,559 consumers in the U.K., including 752 who made cross-border payments in the previous 12 months, conducted from Sept. 6, 2024, to Oct. 23, 2024. It also draws on a survey of 103 owners and business leaders of firms in the U.K. that make cross-border payments that generated annual revenues of up to $10 million in 2023, conducted from Sept. 4, 2024, to Oct. 14, 2024. The report examines the digital wallet landscape for cross-border payments in the United Kingdom.

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