A quarter of Europeans expect to start using a wearable device, such as a smartwatch, bracelet or keyring, to complete contactless payments, according to new figures from Mastercard.

Contactless spend on Mastercard and Maestro grew by 145 per cent in the last year, as the tap-and-go payment method continues to grow in popularity. Barriers to using contactless have also decreased, according to Mastercard, with concerns around fraud dropping 24 per cent across Europe, particularly in the Netherlands (-41 per cent), Spain (-33 per cent) and the UK (-31 per cent).

The Netherland’s ABN AMRO has introduced a pilot for 500 customers to trial contactless payments with an enabled ring, watch, bracelet or keyring, linked directly to their current account. Eight in 10 payment terminals in the country already accept contactless payments, with more than 50 per cent of payments in the Netherlands completed via contactless, according to ABN AMRO.

Paolo Battiston, executive vice president of digital payments & labs Europe at Mastercard, said: “Europe leads the world in contactless payments and its overwhelming success has created a demand for even greater convenience. Shoppers trust in contactless is greater than ever, and in turn it seems they are ready to take this one stage further by trying contactless through connected devices.

“Pilots like the one we’re involved with in The Netherlands will empower consumers in the digital economy.”

Yvonne Duits, product owner payments at ABN AMRO, added: “With customer expectations clear and the new technology available today, the time has come to drop cumbersome methods of payment and embrace a better consumer experience through wearable payments. We care about making things convenient for consumers and offering everyone a payment method that suits their preferences and this pilot is testament to that.”

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