Contactless payments continue to rise

Contactless transactions have increased by 189% since May 2013, according to Visa Europe.

The financial services firm found that contactless payments increased by 18% between April and May of this year. The total value of contactless transactions increased by 14% between April and May 2014, reaching £126.7 million in May.

Mark Austin, Director of Contactless at Visa Europe, explained that these high numbers are due to the increased speed and convenience of transactions made in this way, as well as retailer participation.

He said: “Driven by increased consumer awareness, the commitment of UK banks to issue Visa contactless cards and UK retailers activating contactless terminals, Visa contactless payments have reached record highs in the past few months.”

Visa claims that more than 37.8 million contactless cards have been issued by banks in the UK alone, and the UK’s top 30 retailers account for 67% of all contactless payments in May 2014.

The amount of money being spent per contactless transaction is also increasing, with the average payment on contactless cards reaching £6.43 in May 2014, a 34p increase from May 2013.

Visa is not the only company to have found an increase in contactless payments, with WorldPay reporting a 226% year-on-year growth in hands-free transactions from 2012 to 2013.

In 2013, Visa announced that more than 90 million contactless payments had been made in the UK.

Visa is also involved in efforts to support the use of contactless payments via smartphone devices with the expansion of its V.me digital wallet earlier this year.

Transport for London (TfL) is also taking advantage of the trend by planning to accept contactless payment cards as a form of admission across the TfL network by September 2014.