The amount spent by shoppers using contactless cards and devices soared by 164% last year, in another record-breaking year for increasingly popular “touch and go” payments. Half of Britons now pay by contactless payments at least once a month, according to the Barclaycard contactless spending index, while one in five (21%) are planning to increase their usage next year. The figures relate to payments handled by Barclaycard, which processes £1 of every £3 spent using payment cards in the UK. Overall, London continues to lead the way for contactless usage, with almost half (47%) of all eligible transactions (up to the £30 limit) now being contactless – up from three in 10 in 2014. Spending in Manchester rose more than any other UK city – climbing 325% – with Glasgow, Blackpool, Hull and Edinburgh also seeing significant increases. The UK’s pubs and bars enjoyed brisk trade with contactless payments surging 79%, and technology such as Barclaycard’s “Pay @ Pump” self-pouring beer pump is likely to mean more people paying for drinks in this way. The news comes as the industry body the UK Cards Association (UKCA), reveals that the number of contactless debit and credit cards in the UK now tops 100m. A total of £2.8bn was spent using contactless cards in October – up 0.8% on September, with a record monthly spend of £55bn using plastic, the majority of which was on debit cards. Tami Hargreaves, commercial director of digital consumer payments at Barclaycard, said: “As our data shows, Brits are turning to these payments for all types of purchases, from a supermarket top-up shop to stocking up on everyday essentials in discount stores and pharmacies.” The increasing popularity of mobile payments and wearable devices such as the Apple Watch had also contributed to the surge in contactless payments, she added. Contactless payment technology is being trialled for the first time in a scarf – by the merchant payment specialist Card Cutters – to help ease the Christmas shopping queues this festive period. Working the same way as contactless debit or credit cards, the “Swish and Pay” scarf is designed for the consumer already laden with bags at the checkout. Rather than rummaging for their wallet or purse, the consumer just drapes their scarf over the card terminal to make a swift and easy purchase. The scarf uses the near field communication (NFC) technology used in debit and credit cards built into the material.
The amount spent by shoppers using contactless cards and near field communication (NFC) devices rose by 164% last year , with more than 100 million of Britons now using contactless payments at least once a month, according to figures released by Barclaycard . Although the UK Cards Association are still most likely to use contactless, in Manchester spending has climbed by 164% since 2014 , with Glasgow , Blackpool , Edinburgh and Edinburgh also quick to adopt the payment method. In October , the UK Cards Association (UKCA) revealed there are now half contactless debit and credit cards in the UK .