OREANDA-NEWS. January 28, 2016. The number of residents who use their mobile phones for daily payments is growing fast, shows a survey conducted on behalf of the Bank of Lithuania. A third of all residents admit that, having an opportunity, they would pay for services and goods using a smart phone at points of sale as well.

‘Since smart phones account for a more and more significant market share, electronic payments migrate to the mobile space less cautiously. An increasing number of people execute payments not only using a computer but also apps installed in their phones. Even though still a large share of people use apps only for checking their account balance as opposed to transferring funds, we project that over time the mobile phone will become the main means for executing payments’, said Marius Jurgilas, Member of the Board of the Bank of Lithuania.

Last year, 12 per cent of residents who have an account used apps created by credit institutions and executed daily payment transactions. This number has doubled compared to the results of the same survey conducted in 2014, when it stood at 6 per cent.

Apps created by credit institutions were mainly used by young people: last year, apps were used by 26 per cent of the surveyed aged 18–29 who have an account, while among residents who were older than 50 — by only 3 per cent. In addition, users of such apps usually have a higher education, they are mainly people living in cities.

Respondents also revealed that they lack possibilities to pay via mobile phones at distribution and service provision locations. If they had a possibility to pay via a smart phone at points of sale, e.g. at a caf? or shop, one out of three residents would take advantage of it.

The survey on behalf of the Bank of Lithuania was conducted by UAB Baltic Surveys; 1,012 adults across Lithuania were surveyed. The Bank of Lithuania will present more trends that reflect the way residents use cash, credit cards and other payment services in the comprehensive Review of the Survey of the Habits of Lithuanian Residents in Using Payment Services, which is to be published later this week.