In the list of considerations for how to pay for purchases, the security of the transaction method tops cash back and loyalty points for most consumers. That's the conclusion of a recent major payment industry study, reinforced by separate results from new private research.

The "2017 TSYS U.S. Consumer Payment Study," the latest annual version of research conducted by the payments provider, indicates that security is a top-of-mind issue for the majority of consumers. Regarding a question about moving to electronic wallets on smartphones, the study reports, "Consumers continue to be most interested in mobile features that allow them to instantly identify and stop unauthorized credit and debit transactions," with 80% reporting this as a reason for pursuing wallet apps. The ability to instantly see transactions was cited as another reason by nearly three-quarters (72%) of respondents. Both of these responses outpaced any convenience-related justifications for the new technology.

Security for new payment technology is in line with a response from TSYS's 2016 study that found when considering a new credit card, 74% of consumers ranked security and fraud protection as their priority, with 26% preferring rewards.

The survey on which the study was based also asked consumers about their comfort level with different authentication levels. Traditional passcode was the top response, with 69% stating their comfort with the method, but fingerprint authentication was close behind, at 63%.

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