Visa: 44% Travellers Now More Likely To Use Cashless Payments When Travelling

Alex Cheong Pui Yin

30th November 2021 - 2 min read

A survey by Visa has found that 44% of travellers throughout Asia Pacific – including Malaysians – are now more likely to pay for their purchases using cards or mobile phone apps when travelling as country borders begin to reopen from Covid-19 lockdowns. Revealed in the Visa Voice Of The Consumer 2021 report, this is in an effort to avoid going to money changers or touching cash in general.

According to the country manager for Visa Malaysia, Ng Kong Boon, personal safety continues to remain a top priority for consumers despite the reopening of borders for travel. “One of the activities all travellers do regardless of destination is making payments. That is why digital payments will play a crucial role in both stimulating business recovery as well as limiting physical contact and the spread of infection,” he said in a statement.

Ng also commented that contactless payment has seen significant growth during the pandemic thanks to its speed, convenience, and safety. “We believe that cashless payment habits will continue to be the norm in a post pandemic era as contactless remains the first choice for face-to-face transactions,” he further said.

Aside from this, Visa’s Voice Of The Consumer 2021 survey also uncovered various other travel trends among Malaysians, including the fact that 65% of the Malaysian respondents polled are eager to travel locally. Meanwhile, 40% of them are looking to travel internationally for leisure by mid-2022.

A majority of the Malaysian participants – amounting to 54% – also said that they are interested in travelling within a travel bubble, although not in the immediate future. In contrast, 16% said they are keen to travel as soon as a travel bubble is announced.

Finally, the survey’s Malaysian respondents revealed that they will consider three top factors before making any travelling decisions, namely vaccination (66%), the severity of the Covid-19 situation in their travel destinations (66%), and the decrease in global Covid-19 infections (56%).

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Alex Cheong Pui Yin

Previously covered recruitment-related stories and had a short stint as a copywriter for the property industry. She subsequently developed an interest in investment and robo-advisors.

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