Contactless card payments increase by 237% in 2016

A new study by Visa Europe shows that the increase of the minimum spend limit for contactless payments has led to an uptake in contactless spending.

Contactless card payments are a fast and secure way to purchase items, with no need to enter PIN information. Originally introduced with a maximum spend limit of £10 in 2007, this increased to £30 in September 2015.

This increase has made contactless technology more accessible, with an average monthly growth rate of 19.1% in the past six months. It has been calculated that contactless card payments between £20 and £30 are now responsible for over 10% of similar priced transactions paid face-to-face.

With the average shopping basket in a supermarket totalling approximately £25, customers now have the ability to quickly pay for their groceries, with a 100% growth in contactless card payments compared to the six months before the introduction of the £30 limit.

The higher limit allows for more restaurant meals to be paid for using contactless technology, and showed an increased spend of 155%. There has also been an increase of £2.22 in the average contactless transaction price when paying for fuel at service stations.

Another sector seeing a boost in contactless spending is bars and pubs. The average weekly growth for contactless card payments between £20 and £30 was 30% since September, compared to a growth of only 3% for purchases under £20.

Kevin Jenkins, Managing Director UK & Ireland of Visa Europe, said: “The trajectory for contactless payments continues to look very strong. Increasing the spending limit to £30 has clearly encouraged consumer adoption and retailer opportunity across Britain.”

“Overall, we have seen 36 million contactless transactions over £20 in the first six months; which amounts to nearly £900m of transactions made easily and safely, in less time, freeing consumers from the need to carry cash.”

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