A third of individuals using mobile contactless payments, data shows

25 Jul 2024

Data published by UK Finance has revealed that a third of individuals in the UK now use mobile contactless payments.

The total number of payments made in the UK in 2023 rose to 48.1 billion, the data showed. UK Finance said that 38% of all payments made in the UK last year were contactless.

However, the number of cash payments fell to 6 billion – cash represented 12% of all payments made during 2023.

Consumers made 85% of all payments, UK Finance said, whilst businesses made the other 15%.

Adrian Buckle, Head of Research at UK Finance, said: 'There is a huge amount of choice available to consumers in terms of how they make payments, but we can definitely see the continued popularity of debit cards and contactless. This has been driven both by consumer demand as well as new technologies which help to increase acceptance levels, particularly among small and mobile businesses.

'Mobile contactless payments are growing fast and one third of adults are now making these at least once a month, with scope for usage to increase further.'