‘More than half of UK card payments are contactless’

Contactless payments accounted for more than half of all U.K. card transactions in September, says a new report released by trade association UK Finance on Thursday (16).

According to the Card Spending report, in September – which is the most recent month evaluated – about 53 per cent of all credit card payments and 69 per cent of all debit card transactions were contactless.

Overall, there were 1.2 million contactless card transactions in September, a 30.5 per cent increase from last year and 70 per cent increase from two years prior. While contactless credit transactions increased by 28.6 per cent YOY, contactless debit transactions rose by 30.7 per cent.

There were 321 million credit card transactions in September with spending of £16.8 billion, says the report by the trade association, adding that consumers in the U.K. are using more but spending less on their credit and debit cards as compared to last year.

Globally, the UK was an early adopter of contactless payment technology, introducing the first contactless-enabled cards in 2007. The contactless limit is now £100, after rising from £45 limit on October 15, enabling consumers to make larger purchases without the need for chip and PIN. 

The recently-released figures by UK Finance seems to be in line with PYMNTS’ recent research, which shows the evolution of payment preferences due to Covid-related health concerns. One-third of shoppers say that acceptance of contactless cards would convince them to spend more time at physical stores, including 38 per cent of Generation Z consumers.