Contactless payment gains momentum in the UK
By Retail Technology | Thursday August 7 2014
Recent numbers by Visa Europe reveal that contactless payments surged between April and May this year
An surge in contactless payments was noticed between April and May in the UK this year, according to recent figures released by Visa Europe.
The use of contactless cards to make payments has continued to gain monthly momentum in the UK, with consumers making almost 20 million contactless transactions across the UK in May 2014, which represents an 18% increase on April.
Over 37.8 million contactless cards have now been issued by UK banks, a 35% increase on the same period last year.
New records
May 2014 also set a new record for the total value of transactions made by contactless cards in the UK in a single month, reaching £126.7 million, which is a 14% increase on April 2014. This also indicates a growth of 189% since May 2013.
The average UK transaction value for contactless cards in May 2014 was £6.43. This figure represents a 34 pence per transaction increase since May 2013, where contactless payments averaged £6.09 per transaction.
The numbers also shows that in addition to increased usage by consumers and greater issuing of contactless cards from banks, the UK’s top 30 retailers are helping to drive use of the payment method. The top 30 retailers accounted for 67% of all contactless payments in May 2014.
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