Technology saving time - but we feel busier

New Zealanders believe technology has resulted in a timesaving of six hours a week on average compared with a decade ago; however, three quarters of us are still feeling the pressure when it comes to managing our time.

According to the Visa payWave Currency of Time Survey, conducted by Horizon Research,  more than 75 per cent (77.5%) of people feel busier, with more than 40 per cent (42.5%) feeling significantly or overwhelmingly busier.

Interestingly, those who reported saving the most time from technology were more likely to be busier, indicating that despite completing tasks faster demands on our time are also increasing.

The top two things Kiwis would like to do if they had more spare time was be with family and friends (33.1%) and focus on hobbies and/or social activities (31.2%). ‘Me time’ was significantly lower at 16 per cent, but as time saving from technology increased, so did the preference to exercise and keep healthy.

Professor Paul Spoonley of Massey University’s College of Humanities and Social Sciences says it is not surprising that people feel busy even though technology saves time.

"Instant communication means that the old distinction between work and home or leisure does not operate any more. The boundaries are unclear. Technology saves time on many tasks but it also creates new tasks, and many feel that they need to check something online or to answer a text. It feels busy."

Caroline Ada, Visa country manager New Zealand and South Pacific, says new innovations such as contactless payment technology, which allows cardholders to make any purchase up to $80 without entering a PIN or signing a receipt, will speed up every day shopping and cut down the time people spend queuing.

"We commissioned the Visa payWave Currency of Time survey to see what impact technology has had on our lives and to gauge how time poor or rich we are compared to a decade ago.

"While we feel like we’re trying to cram more into our day than a few years ago, technology can go some way to saving us time. Contactless payments like Visa payWave will benefit customers by allowing them to speed up their payment transaction time when it matters, such as when buying food at a stadium, popping in for petrol and doing the weekly supermarket shop."

A recent Australian timing study showed Visa payWave allows shoppers to make payments four times faster than with traditional card payments where the card is swiped or inserted into the reader.

Following this theme, the top three tasks Kiwis would like to be able to do four times faster were sitting on hold with call centres (45.3%), the weekly grocery shop (20.9%) and the work commute (19.9%).

"Cardholders simply place their Visa payWave card against a special contactless reader to wave and go; it’s a faster way to pay than cash or other forms of payment. Kiwis are already among the highest users of electronic payments in the world - 59 per cent compared with cash at only 17 per cent - and we anticipate this trend away from cash to continue as everyday payments such as a bottle of water or cup of coffee can be paid for by waving your card in front of the reader," says Ada.

The Visa payWave Currency of Time Survey found men were more likely to use a contactless card compared to women (42.5% and 37.7% respectively) and were also more willing to eliminate cash altogether if it was practical to do so (43.4% and 33.7%).

From a generational perspective it was those aged 18-24 years who are least likely to use cash and on average have the least amount of cash in their wallets.

Caroline Ada adds contactless payments will lay the groundwork for future payment innovations.

"Near Field Communication (NFC) is a game changer for the industry and as customers drive innovation, technology like Visa payWave is taking us one step closer to mobile payment ubiquity."

Visa payWave is based on the secure global EMV standard for chip card technology and carries multiple layers of security including an ultra-short read-range and use of encryption keys. With a contactless payment the card never leaves the cardholder’s hand, thereby reducing the opportunity for the card to be skimmed.

In addition, cardholders are protected by Visa’s Zero Liability policy which means that provided the cardholder has taken reasonable precautions to protect their card, they are not held liable for unauthorised transactions.

• Results are from a survey of 2,224 respondents from the HorizonPoll National Panel, which is representative of the population 18 years of age or older at the 2006 census. The overall margin of error for the survey is 2.1%.