- Barclaycard data shows that contactless spending jumped 166 per cent overall in 2016

- Supermarkets saw particularly strong growth, with spending up 136 per cent – largely due to the roll-out by Sainsbury’s in late 2016, as well as shoppers making higher value and more frequent purchases with their contactless cards and devices

- In the first half of 2017, contactless spending was up by more than a third (34 per cent)

- More than half (51 per cent) of all transactions up to the eligible spending limit of £30 are now made using contactless, which shaves seven seconds off the time taken to process a transaction compared to Chip and PIN

- Mobile payments are also catching on rapidly, with the amount spent by users of Barclaycard’s Android Contactless Mobile app jumping by 90 per cent so far in 2017

 

“As we approach the tenth anniversary of ‘touch and go’ payments, it’s interesting to see just how much UK shoppers are valuing the convenience the speed and ease of contactless payments. Uptake and usage of the technology has evolved at a rapid pace, which is supported by our data which shows a significant surge in recent years.

 

“With Barclaycard data revealing that more than half of eligible in-store card payments are now made using contactless technology and more innovation in the pipeline to enhance the use of mobile and wearable devices, we expect to see contactless spending to go from strength to strength for the foreseeable future”.