One third of Europeans have already used a mobile payment app at least once, and more than half expect to do so during the next year, according to a survey conducted on behalf of leading Dutch bank ING.

The conclusion is based on a questionnaire of more than 14,000 users which, if extrapolated across the continent, would mean 185 million Europeans using their mobile devices for payments over the next 12 months.

The survey gives Google Wallet and Apple Pay as examples of payment apps, although neither are actually available in Europe.

Users were asked if they had used ever used a payments app and whether they expected to use one over the next year. Just over half (51 per cent) said they would ‘certainly’ or ‘probably’ do so.

The highest take-up so far has been in Turkey (56 per cent), followed by Poland (43 per cent), Italy (39 per cent), Spain (35 per cent), Romania (32 per cent) and the UK (30 per cent). The laggards included Austria (18 per cent) and ING’s own home market in the Netherlands with 13 per cent.  The average across Europe was 33 per cent.

For those yet to take a dip into mobile payments, a lack of trust is cited as the biggest barrier (42 per cent), suggesting there is still work to be done in reassuring a significant number of consumers.