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.”
Is your business missing out on sales by not accepting contactless card payments? All of Handepay’s terminals are contactless enabled, allowing your customers to use the latest technology to pay. Find out more for a new card machine today!
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