Visa reports 250 percent growth in UK contactless transactions

According to the annual report from Visa Europe, one in seven transactions using Visa cards in 2015 were completed using contactless payment technology, compared to one in 25 a year earlier.

With ever-increasing numbers using cards, mobiles and wearable technology to pay for goods and services, VisaEurope saw its 2015 revenues soar by 25 % to EUR 2.31 billion in 2014.

The Transport for London network is Visas biggest contactless outlet, but 60 % of contactless payments occurred outside the British capital last year, the company said.

Across the UK, the amount being spent on cards increased by 9.6 % in 2015, while the number of transactions completed using non-cash methods grew by 11.5 %.

In December 2015, separate data from the UK Cards Association revealed that three-quarters of all retail sales in 2014 were paid for by card, compared with 54 % 2005.

In 2005, Brits spent GBP 1 billion on plastic at the pub and GBP 8.6 billion at restaurants, whereas in 2014 those figures had risen to GBP 5 billion and GBP 22.2 billion respectively.

Also, card payments in supermarkets have increased significantly. In 2005, Brits spent GBP 51.2 billion using cards in supermarkets. By 2014 this had risen to GBP 99.5 billion, the UK Cards Association said.