Visa Europe has increased its estimate of the number of contactless payment cards to be in UK circulation by the end of this year from 10 million to 12 million.
The company said it expected the number of contactless debit, credit and pre-pay cards to soar as the year progresses, as more banks issue them to customers.And it announced that the number already in use broke the eight million mark last month.Visa added that the number of payments being made via the contactless payment card system has doubled in the first six months of the year.
Contactless payment cards enable people to pay for items simply by holding their card against a reader, without having to enter their pin.
Visa increased the maximum value of an item that can be paid for in this way from £10 to £15 earlier this year, and the average value of a contactless transaction is £4.30.Around 26,000 outlets across the UK accept contactless payments, including Subway, Pret A Manger, some Boots outlets, selected branches of Spar, Ikea and a number of independent convenience stores.
