Contactless spending is expected to soar by more than 300 per cent over the next four years as seven in 10 Brits use the technology to pay more frequently than 12 months ago, new Barclaycard data suggests.

The study, which has been conducted ahead of the 10th anniversary of contactless next month, also indicates that the continued surge of ‘touch and go’ payments is set to save UK shoppers 141 million hours, worth almost £1 billion pounds in time, by 2021.

This is due to figures which show that contactless payments are seven seconds faster per transaction compared to Chip and PIN and 15 seconds faster than cash.

The data also shows that the universal acceptance of contactless payments is on the horizon as ‘touch and go’ becomes mandatory for retailers who process card payments from 1 January 2020.

Almost six in 10 (59 per cent) Brits now use contactless, with 71 per cent saying they choose to pay with it more frequently than 12 months ago.

Additionally, more than one in two (55 per cent) consumers choose to pay with ‘touch and go’ because it saves them time, with almost half (48 per cent) enjoying the convenience of not needing to enter their PIN every time they pay.

Tami Hargreaves, director of innovation and partnerships at Barclaycard Mobile Payments, commented: “As the old adage goes ‘time is money’ and since introducing contactless to the UK 10 years ago, we’ve seen Brits embrace the technology in their droves. And with speed, security and convenience all being so important for shoppers, it’s not surprising that contactless is quickly becoming the most popular way to pay.”

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