Payment provider records millionth UK contactless transaction
Payment provider records millionth UK contactless transaction
Latest data from Barclays and Barclaycard reveals the growing popularity of contactless payment technology in the UK, with the total number of transactions this year now reaching over one million.
Since January the payment brands said there has been a 217% rise in monthly contactless transactions, with over 150,000 processed in September alone.
With 42,500 payment terminals in shops across the UK, it was keen to highlight that there are now more opportunities than ever for the ten million Barclays and Barclaycard customers with contactless cards to make purchases under £15 more quickly and easily.
While contactless transactions remain a small part of overall card payments, increasing numbers of retailers and banks are committing to the technology, with contactless card holders predicted to reach 12 million in the UK by the end of the year.
Brand thinks tipping point is close
Stuart Neal, head of payment acceptance at Barclaycard, commented: “The latest statistics on contactless payment show we are reaching a tipping point. The number of terminals has gone from 25,000 at the beginning of 2010, to 42,500 today, and this is before the big grocers like Co-operative [see Sep/Oct. Retail Technology magazine] begin their roll out in earnest. At a time when every penny counts for retailers, contactless helps boost customer satisfaction and reduce queue abandonment.”
Dan Wass, currents accounts director at Barclays, added: “The range of retailers offering contactless payments has grown significantly, from supermarkets, to restaurants to coffee shops all offering contactless as a quicker and easier option for their customers. Contactless offers a real alternative for traditional cash transactions, helping to reduce queues and ending consumers’ search for the correct change.”
Recent research carried out by Populus in June 2010 and commissioned by Barclaycard and Barclays revealed that shoppers are less inclined to wait in queues. According to the research, two fifths of us refuse to queue for longer than two minutes, and two-thirds of us regularly abandon purchases. Additionally, half (51%) of shoppers refuse to even enter a store if they see a queue. The payment brands said contactless payment systems could reduce transaction times by over a third in comparison to cash, with the average transaction taking just 12.5 seconds.
