Survey: More than half of Finns worry about the security of their card details – yet prefer to pay for in-app purchases with their cards

The survey revealed that these concerns are also common in the younger, digitally native generations. As many as 45 percent of respondents aged 18–24 said that they had concerns about the security of saving their card details. One in four Finns prefers to switch apps rather than save their card details to make a payment.

Even though most people have concerns about saving their card details, a debit or credit card remains a popular payment method for Finns who make purchases in smart phone apps. Nearly half (44%) prefer to pay for their app purchases with a debit or credit card, and online banks are equally popular.

A quarter of Finns like to pay with MobilePay. The payment app is most popular among the youngest age bracket, or 18–24-year-olds, more than four in ten (42%) of whom prefer to use MobilePay for in-app purchases.

Most Finns have paid for two or three digital services

Nearly a third (32%) of Finns have paid for two or three digital services for their smart phones or tablets in the past year. A little over a fifth (21%) had only paid for one service, while close to a third (27%) had not paid for any. For example, 41 percent of those aged 50–54 and 39 percent of 55–59-year-olds had not made a single in-app payment in the past year.

“Designing services for all age groups is important so that everyone has the opportunity to participate in the digital society. And addressing the older generations is smart from a business perspective too, since they are a customer segment with a lot of potential: people aged over 50 own well over half of the wealth in Finland”, says Qvik CEO Lari Tuominen.

The Finns’ favorite paid digital services are streaming services like Netflix, HBO and Elisa Viihde, With more than half of Finns (52%) buying such services on the regular. 

Over a third (35%) pay for music services, such as Spotify, while just over a fifth (21%) of Finns pay for e-books and audio books. A good tenth (12%) of Finns had bought cloud-based storage services, like Dropbox and Google One Drive.

“Of the Finns who spend money on mobile content, 62% are paying for one to three services on a regular basis. I believe that this number will increase by up to double over the next five years.”

Monthly digital subscriptions are the norm for younger people

A subscription valid until further notice and paid for by the month is the number one in-app payment method in Finland. More than half of Finns (51%) prefer such subscriptions. 

Monthly billing is even more popular among the young, with a whopping 70 percent of 18–24-year-olds on board. More than a tenth of Finns (15%) prefer one-time payments for their digital services.

“The most popular monthly subscriptions are for digital news, entertainment and leisure services. Given that more than half of Finns prefer regular monthly payments for their digital services, the subscription model seems to have potential for other sectors as well.”

Most Finns have their subscriptions under control, one in five has automated their payments

The difficult economic situation is also reflected in digital service subscriptions. A clear majority (60%) of Finns keep track of their app subscriptions and cancel services when they are no longer needed.

“Inflation and the volatility of electricity prices have made many Finns re-evaluate whether they are getting value from their paid digital services. Creating and communicating value is key to the service provider.”

On the other hand, more than a fifth (21%) of Finns let their digital service payments run automatically and never look at their payment histories. One in ten (10%) would like to be better aware of their subscriptions but has not done anything about it yet.

“The economic situation and increasing price-awareness in Finland is also evident in the digital service market. While in late 2021, a third of Finns had terminated subscriptions due to the price, 44% now say that they will cancel a digital subscription if the price feels too high. And slightly over a fifth of respondents had found equivalent services for cheaper or free.”

Qvik charted the Finns’ mobile app subscription habits with a national survey in March. The electronic survey was taken by 1,000 people aged 18–75. The sample is representative of Finland’s adult population.

Download the full study here