This evolution of consumers has led us to continually rethink payment methods, in order to improve the user experience. We are aware that payment is not an end in itself, but a means to achieve something, and as such it should go as unnoticed as possible, so that consumers can better enjoy their time and forget about the transaction. To achieve this, it must be perceived as something safe and reliable, and it must be embedded in items that users use on a daily basis. Not just a mobile phone, but also a ring, a bracelet, a smartwatch, etc.
In this sense, security is in Mastercard's DNA. We have focused in recent years on developing this field. Today we already have tokenization systems, which encrypt the personal data of each transaction in a uae phone number data unique, single-use code, or devices that authenticate payments through biometrics, which allow the user to make a transaction or access their financial services through a selfie or a fingerprint reading, or the use of Artificial Intelligence to control payment fraud.
On the other hand, payments are already present in so-called wearables: devices that are part of users' daily lives and that in Spain, for example, are materialized in agreements such as the one reached with Fitbit Ionic, thanks to which we help, through its watches, to carry out daily tasks with the least number of steps or clicks possible. This will allow us to apply it to other portable devices in the future.
In this sense, and according to our latest study carried out on 11,915 digital banking users from 11 European countries, including Spain, the convenience offered by digital payment systems is the main advantage most valued by banking customers. In addition, the report, which aims to analyse the importance of both innovation and the digitalisation of payment solutions in the future of financial services, commerce and daily transactions, also indicated that time saving is another benefit of these payment methods for 76% of respondents nationwide, as well as ease of use for 69% of Spaniards.