Contactless payment use in UK shows significant growth

In the past year, payments via contactless technology has grown five-fold in the UK. Value of transactions was up 560% year-on-year, up from 373% in the 12 months to July 2014.

by Helen Leggatt

Furthermore, since 2012, cardholders have doubled the number of times they use 'tap and go', suggesting increased adoption of the technology by retailers and increased confidence among consumers.

With the 'tap and go' limit soon to be raised from £20 (US$ 31) to £30 (US$46) next week, MasterCard expects to see usage increase even more. In 2012, when the 'tap and go' limit was raised to £20 (US$31), the average contactless purchase by cardholders was for £4.52 (US$7). In July this year that had increased to £7.29 (US$11.30).

"The pace of growth we are seeing in contactless is getting ever faster as we rely less and less on cash. Consumers enjoy the speed and convenience of tapping to pay," said Mark Barnett, President of MasterCard UK & Ireland. "We expect this upward trend to persist with consumers continuing to migrate to contactless card payments and increasingly to mobile payments, as we work with partners such as Apple to enable more convenient ways to pay."