Over a third of students want to pay for goods with their smartphones, a new survey from Vista Retail Support has found.

The survey, which was conducted shortly after the launch of the Android Pay app, also found that smartphone payment solutions are almost as popular with students as contactless cards, which are owned by 71 per cent of students, despite having been available for a much shorter time span.

One in 10 of survey respondents currently possess a form of wearable technology, while only four per cent chose wearables as their preferred method of payment.

James Pepper, technical services director at Vista, said: “As retailers prepare for the annual influx of students, they must ensure they can cater to this valuable demographic and turn them into loyal customers.”

Students spent more than £30 billion in 2015, according to ONS data – a figure which is set to rise to £37 billion by 2020.

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