Belgians Happy to Use Smartphones for Many Things, Just Not Digital ID

By Bianca Gonzalez

A survey of Belgian smartphone users from Deloitte revealed that they are open to using their devices for banking and health monitoring, but don’t want digital IDs on their phones.
Half of all Belgians regularly use their phone for physical payments, the survey reveals. Phones are also the top choice for online banking and making payments in brick-and-mortar shops. Consumers tend to prefer laptops for online shopping and streaming, however.

Still, a large majority of Belgians – 71 percent – do not want a digital ID on their phone, and 79 percent do not want a mobile driver’s license (mDL). Half refuse to fully digitize their IDs.

The reluctance to use phones to store a digital ID is “not necessarily due to a distrust of the technology – as we already use the device to do our banking – but rather a reaction to the centralisation of everything in our lives around the smartphone,” said Vincent Fosty, digital leader at Deloitte. Traditional physical cards are seen as more reliable and can be accessed even if a user’s phone is dead.

Smartphone biometrics OK for health monitoring

As the market continues to grow for smartwatches and fitness trackers, more consumers are using their phones for biometric health monitoring. Almost half of all adult smartphone users count their steps each day.

Roughly one in four individuals monitor their heart rate and 21 percent use their phones to keep track of sleep patterns. Twenty-nine percent of men monitor their heart rate, while only 23 percent of women do so. Fifty-one percent of women measure their heart rate on their phones compared to 44 percent of men.

Only 34 percent of users do not keep any health data on their phones and young people from the ages of 18-24 are most likely to use their phones to monitor their health. Belgians are more receptive to sharing health data. Roughly half of those who keep track of health data (54 percent) said they would like to share that data with their doctor.

Source: Biometric Update

Bianca Gonzalez is a freelance journalist. She has written for Next City, Bold Culture, Insider, and Infosec Institute.

Image: Pixabay

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