Paysafe Report Reveals Need for Consumer Education to Propel AI Payments Into the Mainstream

Research highlights extent of untapped potential for AI and mixed reality payments

With artificial intelligence (AI) being one of the most talked about technologies of 2023, consumers are gradually growing their understanding of its role in the payments process. Research* among over 14,000 consumers commissioned by global payments platform Paysafe highlights the extent of the potential for the technology in payments if the current lack of consumer awareness and comfort are addressed.

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At present, just 14% of consumers globally say they are using AI-driven payments technology, with the remaining 86% expressing reservations about the use of AI. While 10% expressed willingness to use AI-driven payments in the next two years, if they became more established, 17% are not comfortable using AI-driven payments technology at all. Meanwhile, a quarter (24%) cite lack of knowledge around what safeguards are in place to reassure them that data isn’t being misused, and over a third (35%) said they don’t know enough about AI-driven payments technology to feel comfortable using it yet.

Some consumers were able to identify their use of real-life examples like AI-powered checkouts (58%), smart wallets (52%), or payment chatbots (50%). When asked how aware they were about the use of AI by merchants, approximately one third of consumers indicated that they know a fair amount or a lot about applications like fraud detection (35%), customer risk scoring (33%), consumer trends (36%) and personalising the payment experience (36%).

Rob Gatto, Chief Revenue Officer at Paysafe, commented: “With the very immediate and significant impact of AI that we’ve seen in recent months, it’s understandable that consumers would have concerns about using such technology at the checkout. To encourage wider adoption, it is crucial to increase consumer awareness and understanding of AI-driven payment technologies and how they work. Payment service providers and merchants will need to educate users about the benefits of AI-driven payments, such as smoother experiences, convenience and security, in order to break down those barriers. Addressing privacy and security concerns head-on is essential, as is deepening consumer recognition of AI being used for risk-scoring, fraud detection, and personalisation.”

Elsewhere, the research found that when it comes to mixed reality – AR (Augmented Reality) and VR (Virtual Reality) payments – while uptake is still low so far at just 3%, the initial challenge around comfort has been largely overcome. Concern about the technology’s security was minimal, with only 12% of consumers saying they wouldn’t use AR or VR to purchase goods because they don’t seem safe.

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A considerable amount of consumers seem open to embracing the technology: 27% said they see themselves using VR and 28% said they see themselves using AR if these become more widely available and they learn more about them. Similarly, just over a quarter of respondents (26%) felt the same about paying for something in the Metaverse.

Gatto added: “When it comes to AR and VR payments, consumer awareness and comfort seems far less of a barrier to adoption. With the tech giants placing such significant focus on this area and new headset launches emerging in the market, we could see a rapid rise in mixed reality commerce once the technology is more widely available.”

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