News

Contactless payments catch fire in the UK

July 21, 2017

Contactless payment, a challenger to cash for small purchases, saw a major uptick in the U.K. during the month of May. New figures published by the trade association UK Finance show that:

• one-third of card payments are now contactless, up to 33 percent from 18 percent in May 2016;
• a total of 4.5 billion pounds ($5.8 billion) was spent via contactless in May, compared with 3.9 pounds ($5 billion) in April;
• the number of card payments in May grew to 1.4 billion, an increase of 12 percent year over year, likely due to increased use of contactless;
• card spending grew at an annual rate of 7 percent in May, the highest rate in 15 months, possibly due to rising inflation;
• the number of card purchases continued to grow faster than spending.
• The debit and credit card share of total retail sales was 77 percent in May.

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