Study Finds Growing Consumer Interest in Payment Vaults to Ease Online Checkout

The ability to use previously stored credentials to make seamless payments has changed modern commerce: Our research found that 80% of consumers have saved their payment information via merchant websites, apps or digital wallets.

Shoppers want a frictionless checkout experience, and most of them trust their information to multiple eCommerce websites or apps in the hopes of a smooth payment process — but are their expectations consistently met?

In “Payments And Credentials Vaults: Gauging Consumer Interest,” a PYMNTS and FIS collaboration, we examine how consumer preferences for stored payment credentials management have evolved. The report is based on a census-balanced survey of 2,019 adult consumers in the United States conducted between Sept. 13-18.

A few key findings from the report include the following:

• More than six in 10 consumers recently used stored payment credentials to pay for online products or services, including subscriptions.

Despite the convenience of stored credentials, many consumers find user experiences inconsistent. PYMNTS’ research found that 80% of consumers have stored credentials on multiple sites, with 56% having between one and 10 stored credentials and nearly one-quarter having more than 10. Just 20% of consumers do not use any stored credentials.

• More than half of consumers who store payment credentials have experienced checkout disruptions, such as expired or stolen cards.

When payment processing issues occurred with consumers’ existing credentials, just 37% said the merchant automatically updated or corrected their payment credentials. Our research also found that 70% of millennials, 62% of high-income consumers and 68% of connected-tech consumers experienced issues related to their payment credentials in the last 12 months.

• Forty percent of consumers are highly interested in a payments and credentials vault that securely holds and updates payment information.

Two-thirds of respondents feel at least somewhat open to using a payments and credentials vault, and 40% are very or extremely interested. Three key groups show the highest levels of interest: consumers who store at least 10 credentials, those who experience issues with stored credentials and connected-tech consumers.

To learn more about how consumer preferences for stored payments management has evolved, download the report.