Payment Innovations Offered by Banks and PayTechs – Which of Them Better Meet Consumer Needs?

Theoretical background: The motivation behind research into perceptions of the quality of payment services provided by banks and PayTech companies was the observed increasing competition between banks and FinTech players resulting from technological (cryptography, decentralised finance) and regulatory (PSD2) changes. Purpose of the article: The aim of this article is to assess how demographic and socio-economic characteristics, as well as cultural backgrounds influence consumers’ perceptions of the quality of services provided by both banks and non-bank payment services providers. Research methods: The study used the results of a survey carried out under National Science Centre grant No. 2017/26/E/HS4/00858. It was conducted using the CAWI method among internet users from 22 European countries between July and August 2020, with a sample size of 5,504 respondents. In the paper, 4,879 responses were included due to some people omitting non obligatory questions. Quality variables models were also used to assess the impact of consumer characteristics on the evaluation of the quality of services provided. Main findings: The analysis carried out shows that for 41.1% of the respondents banks were better as providers of in-store mobile payments and for as many as 58.9% as providers of online payments. The research also allowed the author to assess how consumer characteristics such as age, gender, level of education, level of income, and country of residence affect their perception of the quality of payment services provided by the entities in question. The characteristic that most strongly influenced respondents’ opinion that there are companies that can provide them with better payment solutions than those offered by banks is age. This opinion was most often expressed by respondents under the age of 34. The results of the research indicate that banks need to compete more intensively with PayTech companies for young customers if they want to remain competitive.