Contactless payments soar, driven by higher payment limits and Covid fears

The card provider’s data also indicates the value of contactless payments rose by more than 40% during 2021, a figure that reflected the increase in the contactless limit from £45 to £100 in October.

Individually, the average contactless user made 180 contactless payments in 2021, worth a total of £2,293, an increase from 2020, when users made on average 141 payments worth £1,640.

Jose Carvalho, head of consumer products at Barclaycard, said: “Our data shows many shoppers have welcomed the £100 increase to the contactless limit and are now choosing to pay this way for goods and services in-store.

“Unsurprisingly, many consumers are also increasingly reluctant to touch cash or pin pads when they go to shops, which is why innovations that enable a low-touch experience, such as contactless payments, have really grown in popularity.”