Contactless spending finally seems to be catching on in the UK.

While in London spending on contactless cards has been far ahead of the rest of the country for years, pushed on by Transport for London’s Oyster network and retailers willingness to fit stores with the latest point-of-sale systems, the rest of the country has been slower to make the transition.

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According to the latest data from BarclayCard, released this morning, shoppers around the country spent 34 percent more on contactless cards since the start of 2017.

Shoppers in the midlands and the north of England are increasing their use of contactless more than anywhere else in the UK, with the biggest jumps in spending seen in Derby (up 45 percent), Chester (up 44 percent), Newcastle Upon Tyne (up 42 percent), Coventry (up 42 percent) and Stoke on Trent (up 41 percent). 

This year is set to be another record-breaker for UK contactless payments.

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Meanwhile mobile payments are also surging in popularity with the amount spent through Barclaycard’s Android Contactless Mobile app up by 90 per cent since the beginning of the year.

More than half of in-store card payments up to £30 are now made this way.

Adam Herson, director at Barclaycard Mobile Payments, said:

Our data shows that growth in contactless spending has been surging for several years, but this latest insight is particularly significant as it shows shoppers now prefer to pay with ‘touch and go’, with more than half of eligible transactions made this way. This saves shoppers valuable time at the check-out and makes buying goods and services far more convenient too.

September will mark the tenth anniversary of Barclaycard introducing contactless to the UK and during this time we’ve seen the technology evolve a rapid pace – from mobile and wearable devices – to invisible payments such as our newly launched ‘Grab+Go’ concept, which allows consumers to scan and pay for their shopping with a smartphone. And with more innovation in the pipeline and a continued rise in consumer and merchant adoption, 2017 is on track to be another record-breaking year for contactless spending.