Third of UK card payments now contactless

A third of all UK card payments are now contactless, a sharp rise from the 18 per cent figure posted in May 2016, the latest UK Finance statistics show.

A total of £4.5 billion was spent via contactless in May 2017, compared to £3.9 billion in April 2017. The number of card payments in total continued to grow to 1.4 billion, an increase of 12 per cent over the past year.

Card spending grew at an annual rate of seven per cent in May 2017, the highest rate in 15 months, up from 6.5 per cent in April 2017, possibly due to rising inflation, UK Finance suggested.

Retail sector card spending increased by£36 million from April to £26.2 billion in May 2017, while food and drink sector spending rose by £34 million to £10 billion. The debit and credit card share of total retail sales was 77 per cent in May.

Richard Koch, head of cards at UK Finance, said: “With one in three card payments now contactless, it is clear consumers value the speed and convenience of this way to pay. Card payments continue to grow at a faster pace than spending generally, a trend we predict is going to continue.”

The news follows an RBR report released earlier this week which found that the global payment cards market has grown by eight per cent to reach 14 billion cards currently in use worldwide, with UnionPay consolidating its position as the largest scheme.

The fastest growth was in Asia-Pacific, driven by financial inclusion initiatives, with China contributing by far the most to the rise in card numbers. RBR found that UnionPay, Visa and Mastercard collectively account for 80 per cent of cards worldwide.

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