As Mastercard reveal that 66 per cent of all transactions across the UK are now contactless, new research released today identifies consumer habits and viewpoints that mean this is a consumer change that will stand the test of time.

In the UK contactless adoption was already high and Mastercard has recently worked with the industry to enable the limit for contactless payments to increase from £30 to £45 to help people benefit from the fastest and simplest way to pay.

Nearly half (45 per cent) of people in the UK admit their use of cash has decreased throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, with 1 in 5 (22 per cent) no longer using cash at all. Four in 5 (83 per cent) agree Contactless payments are a cleaner way to pay.

43 per cent of people in the UK have used Contactless payments more often since the Covid-19 pandemic, while 1 in 10 (9 per cent) have started to use contactless for the first time as a result of the pandemic.

“The shift to contactless has been accelerating over the past few years in the UK and it is clear that this rate of adoption has increased in recent months as a result of the pandemic and recent raise in the contactless limit. Our technology has always been there to help navigate the change in consumer behaviours and ensure money is kept safe so everyone can have peace of mind about the way they pay,” comments Marcia Clay, Senior Vice President of Market Development, UK at Mastercard.

Three quarters (76 per cent) of Brits say they are very likely to continue using Contactless payments after the pandemic ends, with 66 per cent saying Contactless Payments are now their preferred way to pay when making purchases in-store. A further one in five (21 per cent) say they have changed which cards they use most frequently specifically to use Contactless payments.

The most popular way of paying using contactless technology in the UK is with a debit or credit card (90 per cent), followed by mobile phone (21 per cent) and contactless enabled device such as a Garmin/Fitbit (3 per cent). Grocery stores are the top destination for contactless usage (93 per cent) along with other retail stores (37 per cent) and pharmacies (29 per cent). 61 per cent adopted contactless payments as they thought it was a safer way to pay.

“Fraud on contactless payments are comparatively lower than chip & pin in Europe and that is still declining so people should feel confident that they are protected,” adds Rigo Van den Broeck, Senior Vice President, Cyber Intelligence Solutions, Mastercard.