Over three quarters of Brits fear the introduction of contactless payment systems will leave them exposed to fraud, according to a new survey.
The poll of 2200 people - which was conducted by TickBox for life assistance firm CPP - found 77% of respondents feel that the roll out of contactless payment cards - which don't require a PIN for small value purchases - will make it easier for criminals to spend money on lost and stolen cards.
Nearly half of those surveyed fear contactless cards will lead to increased crime levels, with 34% concerned about fraudsters hacking into personal details.
However the survey also found that despite being rolled out in London in September 2007, a massive 88% of Brits haven't even heard of contactless payment cards.
Despite this, 49% of respondents believe the technology will result in shorter queues and the same percentage liked the idea of not carrying cash. Nearly a quarter (23%) of those polled also felt contactless cards gave them more control as they don't leave the cardholder's hands at the point-of-sale.
With the credit crunch hitting people's pockets, 47% of those questioned were concerned about keeping an eye on their expenditure while 34% think they will actually spend more as a result of the added convenience and ease that these cards bring.
Geoff Barker, head of contactless payments, CPP, says Apacs has forecast that there will be five million contactless cards in circulation and 100,000 contactless merchant terminals in place by the end of 2008, so people need to get used to the technology and the financial services industry needs to dispel some popular myths around security and fraud.
"For example, casually brushing past a reader in a store does not mean your contactless card will automatically be debited with a purchase you didn't make, nor will transactions be duplicated by accidentally touching the reader twice," says Barker.