New £30 Contactless Payment Limit Is Boosting Sales

Pubs, bars, restaurants and other retailers have seen a large increase in the number of contactless payments since the upper limit was raised to £30 back in September.

A survey from Visa Europe found that the volume contactless transactions costing more than £20 hit 36 million during these six months, generating nearly £900 millionin sales.

Transactions above £20 are growing at double the rate of those under £20 since the introduction of the new limit.

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Overall, the study found that contactless payments grew 237 percent year-on-year, as British consumers increasingly embrace the technology, helped by high-profile adopters such as London’s transport network.

And transactions costing more than £20 have helped drive this rise, seeing an average monthly growth rate of 19.1 percent between October 2015 and March 2016, more than twice the average monthly growth rate of eight percent for contactless transactions under £20 over the same period.

In total, Visa Europe discovered that contactless transactions costing between £20 and £30 now account for more than 10 percent of all its physical card transactions within those limits.

The company highlighted several sectors where contactless has been welcomed with open arms.

This includes supermarkets, where Visa Europe found a 100 percent increase in contactless transactions compared to the six months before the £30 limit was introduced, and pubs and bars, where the average weekly growth in transactions between £20-30 reached 30 percent between October 2015 and March 2016.

Restaurants have seen a 155 percent increase in contactless payments, and petrol stations have also seen a surge as falling fuel prices mean more can now be bought under the £30 limit.

“The trajectory for contactless payments continues to look very strong,” noted Kevin Jenkins, managing director UK & Ireland, Visa Europe. “Increasing the spending limit to £30 has clearly encouraged consumer adoption and retailer opportunity across Britain; families are now able to do their weekly supermarket shop and pay contactless; the increase has driven a demonstrable shift in consumer behaviour.”

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