Report: More Than Half of UK Card Payments Are Contactless

Contactless payments accounted for more than half of all U.K. card transactions in September, according to a new report from the trade association UK Finance.

The group’s latest Card Spending report was released on Thursday (Dec. 16), offering a monthly snapshot of the value and volume of debit and credit card transactions in the U.K. and of U.K.-issued cards around the world.

In September – the most recent month evaluated – 53% of all credit card payments and 69% of all debit card transactions were contactless, the report says.

There were 1.2 million contactless card transactions in September, a 30.5% increase from September 2020 and a 70% increase from two years prior.

Drilling further down, contactless credit card transactions rose by 28.6% between September 2020 and 2021, and by 42.9% since September 2019. For debit cards, that increase was 30.7% between 2020 and 2021 and 75.2% between 2019 and this year.

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These figures are in keeping with PYMNTS’ research, which shows payment preferences evolving due to COVID-related health concerns. One-third of shoppers say that acceptance of contactless cards would convince them to spend more time at physical stores, including 38% of Generation Z consumers.

The UK Finance report also found that consumers in the U.K. are charging more but spending less on their credit and debit cards. Card users made 1.9 billion debit card transactions, 12.6% more than September 2020 and 20.8% higher than September in 2019. However, the total spend – £59.2 billion – was 5.1% lower than September 2020 but 14.1% higher than September 2019.

There were 321 million credit card transactions in September, 13.9% more than in September 2020 and 7.3% more than the same month in 2019. The total spend of £16.8 billion was 19% higher than September 2020, but 2.3% lower than September 2019.