More than half (59 per cent) of respondents in a survey of payment industry execs expect new mobile payment services such as Apple Pay to increase the risk of a security breach.

The survey was conducted by research firm Ponemon Institute on behalf of Experian Data Breach Resolution, which advises businesses about how to handle data breaches.

However, more than half (53 per cent) of respondents said, for their company at least, consumer convenience is more important than security.

“The mega payment card breaches last year put cybersecurity front and center for corporate America and consumers,” said Michael Bruemmer, vice president, Experian Data Breach Resolution.

Among other findings, the survey found that 69 per cent of survey respondents said media coverage of security breaches over the past year had led their organisations to re-evaluate and give higher priority to security.