Spending on contactless cards triples in just one year
Peoples' penchant for contactless cards pushed total spending on them to a record £2.32bn last year according to data from The UK Cards Association. This was three times more than last year's figure.
Shoppers can make contactless payments of up to £20 by touching their cards against a reader. It means small purchases can be made more quickly by not inserting a debit or credit card or typing in the pin.
Increased popularity among customers, the fact people are automatically given contactless cards by banks as well as shops embracing the relatively new technology are behind the boom.
"With usage soaring every month last year, we've seen people flocking to contactless payments as they switch away from cash," said Richard Koch, head of policy at The UK Cards Association.
"For retailers, contactless means quicker ques at the tills and greater convenience for their customers."
Transport for London, which launched contactless payments for its transport systems in September, said 41 million journeys have since been paid for using the technology.
"Using contactless payments to travel can save our customers time, they don't need to stop to top-up an Oyster card, or buy a ticket and can benefit from daily and Monday to Sunday capping," said Shashi Verma, TfL's Director of Customer Experience.