Visa has processed 500 million additional touch-free payments since contactless limits were increased in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Data released by the payments giant shows that consumers have made more than half a billion transactions, where previously they would have needed to use a PIN pad, after more than 29 European countries upped the transaction limit for contactless payments.

The UK raised its contactless limit to £45 from £30 in April as demand increased for touch-free payment options to prevent the spread of Coronavirus.

Visa’s data showed that in Europe over 75 per cent of in-store Visa payments are now contactless.

In some European countries, the share of Visa transactions that are contactless has more than doubled year-on-year, and in many of the largest European countries, the share of Visa transactions that are contactless has increased by at least 20 per cent in the past year.

Charlotte Hogg, chief executive for Europe at Visa, said: “The increasing popularity of contactless payments across Europe is not new – the pandemic has only served to accelerate an existing trend, only now touch-free payments are no longer a convenience, but a necessity.

"When the global pandemic hit, we immediately prioritised working with our partners across Europe to raise contactless payment limits in order to help consumers pay more easily and securely and reduce the need to enter their PIN.”

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