UK contactless transactions “more than trebled” in 2015

The number of ‘touch-and-go’ contactless transactions made by Barclaycard customers in the UK more than trebled in 2015, due in part to the raising of the spending cap to 30 pounds in September, the credit card company has stated.

Barclaycard, which processes nearly half of all credit and debit card sales in the UK, said that the value of spending using contactless technology increased 164 percent in 2015, compared to 2014, and volume of transactions also increased by 135 percent, as consumers increasingly enjoy the speed and ease of ‘touch-and-go’ payments.

Contactless usage was given a boost in September 2015 when the maximum transaction value increased from 20 to 30 pounds, allowing shoppers to purchase goods and services with just a touch of their card or contactless device on a payment reader.

The average contactless transaction value rose 26 percent to 8.65 pounds following the increase in the limit, and the research shows that more than a quarter of active Barclaycard customers use contactless every month.

Barclaycard reveals that contactless spend increased by 164 percent in 2015

London continues to lead the way for contactless usage, with more than four in ten, 41 percent of all transactions of 20 pounds and under now being made with contactless. This was followed by Cambridge, at 26 percent, Northampton, at 24 percent, and Bristol, Southampton and Oxford all at 23 percent.

Tami Hargreaves, commercial director of digital consumer payments at Barclaycard, said: “Every second counts for today’s busy shopper and, as our data shows, ‘touch-and-go’ payments are now the norm for an increasing number of everyday purchases. Whether it’s grabbing a coffee on the way to work – or stocking up on groceries on the way home – the speed and ease of contactless means it’s now the preferred way to pay for shoppers across the country.

“As the old adage goes, ‘time is money’, and we expect contactless payments to continue to break new records throughout 2016.”

Barclaycard first introduced contactless payments to the UK in 2007.

Image: Barclaycard