The number of European consumers regularly using a mobile device — whether a smartphone, tablet or wearable — to make payments has tripled in the past year, according to Visa's 2016 Digital Payments Study.

Some 54 percent of consumers surveyed said that they regularly use a mobile device to make payments in a range of situations, compared with just 18 percent who were asked in last year's study whether they used mobile payments for everyday goods and services.

The study, which surveyed more than 36,000 online consumers in 19 European countries, reveals how consumer adoption of digital payments has shifted dramatically during the last 12 months. One year ago, 38 percent of those surveyed said they had never used a mobile device to make payments and had no plans to do so. Today, the number has dropped to 12 percent. 

In the top 10 countries where mobile payments are most prevalent, Visa identified two use patterns: developing markets such as Turkey and Romania have been leapfrogging traditional payment methods to adopt new technologies faster; developed markets — particularly the Nordics — are evolving to new technologies at differing paces.

In the U.K., nearly three-quarters (74 percent) of survey respondents are mobile payments users. More than half (59 percent) of these use their device to transfer money to friends and family; just under half (45 percent) use it to buy takeaway meals.

The research also shows that mobile banking activity is increasing across all age groups. For the first time, more than half of European respondents in all age brackets are using mobile banking. While millennials remain the most prolific category, other age groups are rapidly catching up. The fastest-growing demographic is 55–64-year-olds, who drove a 33 percent year-over-year increase. The growth rate for millennials age 18–34 was 24 percent.

"This data is a confirmation that the future of digital payments has arrived, with consumers across the length and breadth of the U.K. and Europe embracing a variety of new ways to pay," Kevin Jenkins, U.K. and Ireland managing director at Visa, said in a statement. "Visa sees smartphones and wearables as the beginning of a broader trend, with millions of new connected devices making it simple, safe and secure to integrate daily commerce transactions into almost any technology.

"In Europe, we've recently seen Apple Pay launched in the U.K., France and Switzerland, Samsung Pay has launched in Spain and Android Pay in the U.K.. We've also seen a new era of wearable payments: smartwatches, wristbands and even clothing. It's clear that this trend will continue to accelerate, enabling consumers to choose the connected device that fits with their lifestyle."