A wide range of factors contribute to confidence in the payment system, the most important of which is being able to pay safely. High public confidence in the payment system held up well during these turbulent times. The level of confidence is highest among men, the highly educated, people with relatively high incomes, people under 65 and the digitally literate.
Public confidence in the payment system is crucial for its smooth functioning. But what contributes to public confidence? And how large is this confidence? New data from De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) and the Dutch Payments Association provide answers to these questions.
Confidence in the payment system is driven by a wide range of factors (Figure 1). Being able to pay safely promotes this confidence most. On a scale of 1 (does not contribute to my confidence at all) to 7 (contributes strongly to my confidence), safe payments score no less than 6 on average. In addition, wide acceptance of electronic means of payment (debit card, smartphone and credit card), “easy payments”, “fast payments” and “proper supervision” are the top five factors that contribute to confidence in the payment system. The following factors have a mid-range score: no sharing of payment data with other companies, low risk of bank account fraud, no use of payment data for providing other services, an accessible payment system for everyone, and no disruptions. These all score an average of 5.6 and as such are also key in confidence for many people.
The Dutch public have great confidence in the payment system. In August 2021, 74% of respondents had a high or very high level of confidence in the payment system (Figure 2). Answers to the question “To what extent do you have confidence in the Dutch payment system in general?” show that most respondents have a high level of confidence (51%). 23% of respondents even say they have a very high level of confidence. Only 1% has little or very little confidence. Confidence in the payment system has remained unabated in these turbulent times. Throughout 2021 people have on average had “high confidence”.
Confidence in the payment system is highest among people with high incomes, people under 65, men, the highly educated and the digitally literate. The more people earn, the higher their confidence. Around 2 out of 5 respondents with a high household income have a very high level of confidence. For respondents with a low household income, this is 1 in 5. Confidence is also related to age: people over 65 have the least confidence. In addition, men trust the payment system more than women. The highly educated and digitally literate also have relatively high confidence in payments. The digitally literate people are those who indicate that they do not need help from others when using the internet and who say they can handle a computer, tablet or smartphone well.
In short, confidence in the payment system is high and in order to keep it that way, many aspects of payments deserve attention. All groups state that being able to pay safely is the most important. This insight is useful, for instance, in designing a digital euro. Groups with relatively low confidence in the payment system, such as people over 65 and the digitally illiterate, deserve special attention. Next year, we will conduct in-depth research into these groups and will also include the confidence aspect.
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