The data, compiled by technical body EMVCo, shows that Europe Zone 1 is close to full market EMV chip deployment with 97% of all card-based payments using the standard. This is followed by Latin America at 87%, and Africa and the Middle East at 84% of payment transactions EMV chip-enabled.

Asia showed significant growth with the number of payments using EMV chip technology increasing by 73%, representing 34% of all card-present transactions. Europe Zone 2 also saw a substantial rise of 30%, to 65% of all face-to-face payments based on EMV.

The US is just beginning to establish its EMV infrastructure with chip card payments accounting for less than one percent of all transactions during the reporting period.

Mike Matan, current chair of the EMVCo executive committee, says that 3.4 billion EMV chip payment cards were in circulation globally at the end of 2014.

He comments: “The figures published today represent a 10% year-on-year rise in the number of card-present transactions using EMV chip technology, from nearly 30% of all transactions a year ago to 33% in the most recent reporting period."

The data represents both contact and contactless EMV chip card-present transactions processed by American Express, Discover, JCB, MasterCard, UnionPay and Visa.

Jack Pan, EMVCo chair, says: “As we begin to witness full global adoption of the technology, EMVCo is working to optimise the EMV Specifications and services to facilitate future innovations of face-to-face payments. In addition to this, the body is also evolving the technology to enable and secure new methods of payment, such as digital transactions, to promote security, user familiarity and convenience.”