UK consumers have made 51 million contactless purchases in the last 12 months, according to figures released today from Visa Europe.
The monthly contactless spend has also increased five fold to £45.2 million in June 2013 as consumers have become increasingly comfortable with using contactless technology.
In the 12 months since Visa's Flow Faster advertising campaign starring Usain Bolt, £338 million has been spent on contactless Visa cards, with an average purchase value of £6.65.
Mark Austin, Vice President - Head of Contactless at Visa Europe said:
"A year ago we launched the Contactless 2012 campaign to raise public awareness of contactless technology and the convenience and flexibility it brings to day to day payments. We are delighted to see the technology now being used so frequently on the high street as consumers become confident in making every day contactless payments and we're excited about the number of new shops due to roll out contactless payment in the remainder of 2013."
Contactless payments in the UK:
• There were 6.8 million purchases made in June 2013, representing a total spend of £45.2 million spent (compared to 1.4 million transactions and £8.6 million spent in June 2012)
• More than 3 million Visa contactless journeys have been made on London buses since December 2012
• There are currently more than 28 million Visa contactless cards and 280,000 contactless terminals in the UK
• The average value of a contactless purchase in the UK is £6.65
Visa contactless cardholders can pay quickly and securely by simply tapping the contactless reader with their enabled card at the point of sale for purchases of £20 or less.
Contactless payment across Europe:
• Over 1 million terminals now accept contactless payment in Europe
• There are now more than 65 million Visa contactless cards in Europe
• In the 12 months since June 2012 Europeans have spent €1.5 billion on 187 million purchases