Contactless payments increased by 10 per cent last week as retailers across the country reopened their doors to the public.
As the government allowed non-essential retailers to re-open for the first time in 82 days last week, data from Barclaycard reveals that the number of shops trading jumped 60 per cent compared to the same period a month earlier.
This led to an eight per cent increase in overall card transactions, including a 10 per cent jump in contactless payments.
Barclaycard, which handles around 40 per cent of the UK’s card payments, suggest that the introduction of the new £45 spending limit in response to the pandemic has helped boost contactless usage.
READ MORE: Contactless payments key to easing anxiety as customers return to shops
Since the limit was raised from £30, Barclaycard says it has processed nearly 40,700,000 transactions above the previous limit, totalling over £1.4 billion.
“It’s extremely heartening to witness the spike in activity that took place last week, and with some retailers still to open some or all of their stores, we expect sales volumes to continue to rise over the coming weeks,” Barclaycard Payments chief executive Rob Cameron.
“The ability of UK businesses to adapt and grow as they emerge from lockdown is a testament to how dedicated and resilient they are.
“It will be interesting to watch whether the measures they took to boost income during lockdown, such as turning to social media to increase sales, will become a permanent part of their business models from now on.”
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