Contactless usage on the up with 1bn Visa payments made
The payment provider said more than €12.6bn has been spent in total since contactless payments were introduced
Visa has announced 1billion contactless payments have been made in Europe over the last 12 months, with 12.6 billion (8.92billion) spent using the technology since it launched.
The majority of contactless cardholders reside in the UK, with 49.6 million cards issued that can be used in 410,000 places, but the number of terminals is eclipsed by Spain, which has 593,000 terminals.
In March alone, 52.6 million transactions were processed in the UK, 1.6 billion (1.1 billion) was spent in the continent - three times as much as the same month last year.
Visa is now predicting that by 2020, every business offering the company's point of sale terminals will have contactless machines installed and the majority of Visa users will own a contactless payment card, enabling everyone to use the technology to make payments.
Visa customers in the Czech Republic, Poland and Spain are more likely to spend large amounts using contactless technology because there is no a limit on transaction value as there is in the UK. Those wanting to make a payment using contactless can just tap their card on a terminal and enter their PIN number when prompted.
In the UK, the adoption of touch-to-pay on London Underground has made a big difference to the number of transactions happening in the country, with 100 million contactless journeys since launch.
"Contactless momentum continues to build as more and more people discover it's often the quickest and most convenient way to pay for everyday things," Sandra Alzetta, executive director of Core Products at Visa Europe said.
Picture by HLundgaard
"Across Europe, usage levels have soared, with more than one billion contactless transactions made by Visa cardholders in the last 12 months alone. The popularity of contactless will only increase in future as we experience the next generation of digital payments, where the simplicity and convenience is extended to mobile and wearable NFC technology."
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