Visa study shows more than half Millennials in Hong Kong believe that one day they will be able to pay for everything electronically, online or with a mobile phone

Hong Kong, August 14,2012 – Thriving on a diet of online shopping, mobile banking and virtual games, Millennials[1] believe in a future where new technology will allow them to almost totally dispense with cash.

According to Visa’s Connecting with the Millennials study which features interviews with over 5,500 young people across Asia, including Hong Kong, Russia and the UAE, eight in 10 Millennials believe that they will one day be able to do all their shopping and bill payments online. Seventy three percent believe this will be possible with a mobile phone.

“Hong Kong Millennials are high users of their mobile phones. We see a bright future for mobile phone and other device-based payments as more people adopt electronic payments around the world,” said Tom Tobin, Country Manager for Visa Hong Kong and Macau.

Looking at their transaction behavior today, young consumers are already living the digital life with 63 percent of those surveyed saying they are already transacting online using their personal computers or laptops, and 19 percent on their mobile phones. Hong Kong Millennials are more likely to use their mobile phones for social networking (60 percent) than any other market, displaying a highly wired lifestyle compared to Millennials from other regions.

Millennials in Hong Kong do believe electronic payment will displace cash. Fifty seven percent of Hong Kong Millennials agree that we will become a cashless society one day. Sixty-seven and 59 percent agree with the statement that in future there will be electronic alternatives available to make payments and purchases via online or mobile phone, respectively.

Hong Kong Millennials have one of the highest rates of saving in the survey, saving on average 37 percent of their monthly disposable income. They are also investing for the future. The most sought after investment products are stocks (62 percent) – the highest average figure across all markets – insurance (57 percent) and bonds (21 percent). Nineteen percent of monthly disposable income is also contributed to their parents, the second highest rate in the survey behind India.

On average, about 12 percent of a Hong Kong Millennial’s monthly income goes towards online shopping alone, with much of it being spent on general shopping, entertainment, household items, travel and groceries.

Fifty-two percent of Hong Kong Millennials indicate a preference for payment by credit cards. This is reflected in the high ownership of credit cards among Hong Kong Millennials, who own an average of 2.61 credit cards. Discounts (60 percent) are the key motivator for using credit cards, followed by maximizing rewards program (50 percent) and online purchases (46 percent). Credit cards are most frequently used for online purchases with one in four using this form of payment.

“With online shopping now playing an important role in the Millennial’s retail experience, a big part of Visa’s innovation strategy is to deliver next-generation solutions for eCommerce and mobile devices that provide the same 'Visa-quality' experience – convenience, reliability and security – that people now enjoy when using their Visa cards at a physical shop or restaurant,” said Tobin.

For more information on market specific information and to download the full report, please visit: www.visa-asia.com/millennials  

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About Visa

Visa is a global payments technology company that connects consumers, businesses, financial institutions and governments in more than 200 countries and territories to fast, secure and reliable digital currency. Underpinning digital currency is one of the world’s most advanced processing networks—VisaNet—that is capable of handling more than 20,000 transaction messages a second, with fraud protection for consumers and guaranteed payment for merchants. Visa is not a bank and does not issue cards, extend credit or set rates and fees for consumers. Visa’s innovations, however, enable its financial institution customers to offer consumers more choices: pay now with debit, ahead of time with prepaid or later with credit products. For more information, visit www.corporate.visa.com.

About the Connecting with the Millennials Study

The fieldwork was conducted between June and July, 2011 by Millward Brown on behalf of Visa Worldwide. Males and females between the ages of 18-28 and in the top 50 percent of the income distribution range were surveyed. In each of the 11 markets, 500 interviews were conducted online with representative quotas of gender, age and income. The study surveyed more than 5,500 Millennials, in 11 countries including mainland China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, India, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan and the United Arab Emirates.

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Ketchum Hong Kong                                         Ketchum Hong Kong

Charlene Leung                                                 Jennifer Tsui

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Email: charlene.leung@knprhk.com                   Email: Jennifer.tsui@knprhk.com