The COVID-19[1] pandemic is a catalyst for "seismic shifts" in the EU payments industry, new research suggests.
When stay-at-home orders and lockdowns were imposed in the European Union, stores closed their doors and many of us turned to online services in order to buy everything from the weekly food shop to clothing.
Many businesses also made the decision to stop accepting physical cash entirely, asking customers instead to pay with contactless cards or chip-and-PIN instead.
We are many months on and the retail industry -- alongside many others, including hospitality and events -- are still suffering. Physical stores, pubs, and hotels either have or are at the risk of closure, and some companies have chosen to shift their entire businesses online.
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Without a return to 'normality' on the horizon, the novel coronavirus has prompted radical shifts not only in the way we shop but also the way we pay.
New research into changing EU payment trends, recently published by Forrester, suggests that high street interruption, consumer fears, and changing spending patterns caused by COVID-19 will impact payments if not for years, then permanently.
Forrester says that one in five adults across the EU tried out digital payment methods for the first time during the first wave of the pandemic, including contactless, mobile, and digital wallets.
The use of notes and coins has plummeted; for example, Visa has reported a 50% drop in UK customers accessing ATMs over this year.
A survey conducted by Forrester found that close to half of EU residents plan to use cash "less" after lockdown periods end, and as Europeans work out how to balance "risk and convenience," global offline sales are