Belgians are increasingly using smartphones for medical tracking and banking, according to Tuesday's Digital Consumer Trends Report by consulting firm Deloitte.
One in two Belgians now uses their smartphone to make physical payments in shops. Mobile phones have also become the tool of choice for managing online banking.
However, while consumers are ditching debit cards for smartphones, there is reluctance to relinquish physical ID cards, Deloitte reveals. 71% of Belgians would not want a digital ID card on their smartphones, and 79% are against digitising driving licences.
"We see real reluctance for people to use their smartphones as identification," says Vincent Fosty, an expert at the consulting firm. "This isn't necessarily due to distrust of technology – we already use devices for banking – but rather a reaction to centralising all aspects of our lives in the smartphone."
Additionally, 54% of Belgians monitoring their health using smartphones wish to share this data with their doctors. Almost half the adults with smartphones count their daily steps, more than a quarter monitor their heart rates, and 21% keep sleep habit data. Only 34% keep no health-related data.
"Even though we are averse to digital ID solutions, we find that sharing personal health data with a doctor raises fewer concerns," Fosty concludes.
