STRATEGIC PARTNERS
June 19, 2018
For the first time, consumers in the United Kingdom are paying more often with contactless debit cards than with cash, according to U.K. Finance.
In 2017, U.K. consumers made 13.2 billion debit card payments compared with 13.1 billion cash payments, marking the first time cash has failed to claim first place as Brits' preferred payment instrument.
By the end of 2017, there were nearly 119 million contactless cards in circulation. With customers and businesses increasingly choosing contactless cards and card acceptance devices, U.K. Finance anticipates that 36 percent of all payments across the U.K. will be contactless in 2027.
"The choice of payment options available in the U.K. is allowing people to choose to pay the way that best suits them," U.K. Finance Chief Executive Stephen Jones said in the release. "But we're far from becoming a cash-free society and, despite the U.K. transforming to an economy where cash is less important than it once was, it will remain a payment method that continues to be valued and preferred by many."
