Nine in ten European businesses have invested in a contactless project and the other 10% are set to do so, new research has found.

Business decision-makers at banking, retail, telco and transport organisations told a survey by Gemalto that they expect 10% of all transactions will come from contactless technology within the next three years.

Respondents highlighted that marketing decisions were at the forefront of their roll out plans, with 30% set to launch a solution through their own brand and a third partnering with someone launching under their brand.

>See also: Will contactless end Britain’s 10-year love affair with Chip and PIN?

European leaders also revealed there is not yet a clear dominant payment option preferred on the market, but contactless payment cards (52%), mobile (50%), wearable devices (43%) and contactless store/loyalty cards (42%) are the current leading choices.

This highlights that a combination of several form factors are needed to address different payments moments and consumer habits.

In order to overcome the technical aspects of the deployment stage, half of respondents said they will need to outsource, with a further 12% saying they will outsource the entire process.

Having strong security solutions (59%) and industry expertise and reputation (53%) were the top factors for organisations when selecting a partner.

Benefits outweighing concerns

The top three drivers for adopting contactless solutions were faster payments (74%), being seen to innovate (43%) and cost-effectiveness (42%).

Reputational benefits were also stated as important, with 38% saying it helps them be seen as market leaders, and a third claiming it differentiates from the competition in the eyes of their customers and the wider market.

However, business leaders did also understand that there are some concerns about security perception from users around these new payment methods (46%) and in terms of continuing to build consumer trust (35%).

>See also: The decline of cash – and the rise of contactless

The vast majority (96%) were actively addressing these concerns principally through education and training for employees (44%), working with consultants (41%) and partnering with trusted technology suppliers (38%).

“Our survey indicates that businesses are going all in on investing in contactless, which is reflective of today’s consumer demand for convenience, speed and choice,” said Howard Berg, senior VP at Gemalto UK and Ireland. “And this is only going to grow with new players and new form factors that offer innovative and convenient payment solutions, coming onto the market.

“To get to a point in a few short years where businesses predict that 10% of all their payments being made via such a new channel is remarkable. This is testament to the benefits that businesses are already experiencing in terms of operational efficiency and reputational advantage.”