Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
Contactless card spending surged by nearly a third in 2018, and with over 20 million transactions taking place each day, new data released by Paymentsense reveals the UK cities leading this growth with those in the top 10 expected to go cashless first.
Analysing data of nationwide transactions from 2018, Paymentsense has explored the UK’s cashless capitals, detailing the cities with the highest proportion of debit, credit, contactless and all transactions.
Bristol is championing the UK’s cashless movement and leading the way in terms of contactless transactions for a second year. Almost three-quarters (73%) of the city’s card transactions were made on contactless in 2018, a 14% increase from 2017 highlighting the move away from cash is only increasing.
Top ten cities for contactless card transactions
| City | Percentage of contactless card transactions 2018
|
Percentage of contactless card transactions 2017 | Percentage increase of contactless card transactions from 2017 to 2018 |
| Bristol | 73.14% | 59.5% | 13.64% |
| Hull | 72.84% | 55.7% | 17.14% |
| London | 72.48% | 57.1% | 15.38% |
| Durham | 71.64% | 57.06% | 14.58% |
| Hemel Hempstead | 70.48% | 59.41% | 11.07% |
| Slough | 70.17% | 59.55% | 10.62% |
| York | 69.49% | 51.68% | 17.81% |
| Birmingham | 68.52% | 53% | 15.52% |
| Sunderland | 68.36% | 40.05% | 28.31% |
| Leeds | 68.32% | 50.14% | 18.18% |
Hull comes in a close second with over 72% of transactions being contactless. While the 2017 UK City of Culture ranks a lowly 33rd for total card transactions, a high acceptance rate of almost 73% for all contactless payments, beat London into 2nd place.
London is the capital of all card payments. Unsurprisingly, London leads the way with a whopping 93m total card transactions. Up 33m from 60m in 2017! The capital now accounts for over 20% of all card transactions in the UK.
Guy Moreve, Chief Marketing Officer at Paymentsense, said “As a society, we’re close to becoming cashless, with contactless transactions reaching over £5.6 billion in 2018 and set increase even further in 2019. There are areas of the country such as Bristol that are adapting to the shift in payments, while other large towns like Manchester and Newcastle are struggling to keep up according to our data. These cities must move with the times to stay competitive in our current digital era.”
“For the many businesses that have embraced the cashless society, the prospect of the increase in contactless payments is a positive move and likely to lead to business success ”.
Freelance copywriter Ellen Holcombe said “I have seen a lot of cash machines and branches of banks close in my area, however, this hasn’t really impacted me. Most of the stores and services I use accept card and contactless. I think we’re living in a world that’s going to be cashless very soon and I’m okay with that.”
With demand for cash machines falling and pressure on companies such as Link to keep specific ATMs running, it will be interesting to see how this plays out in the near future. If there’s one thing we can be sure of, however, it’s that contactless payments are here to stay and will most likely increase in popularity.”
The full report can be viewed here.
