Almost one in two in-store card transactions in the UK is now contactless, according to new research from Mastercard.

There has been a 95 per cent increase in UK contactless transactions year-to-date, while contactless already represents 46 per cent of all transactions each month.

Continuous technological advancements in payments and data analytics across Europe is enabling countries to embrace improvements of regional technology infrastructures, stated Mastercard.

Transport is one of the main areas fueling the growth of contactless transactions, with Transport for London (TfL) being a good example of the increasing number of commuters using contactless.

TfL revealed in June that half of all tube and rail pay as you go journeys in London are now made using contactless payment cards or mobile devices.

While the acceptance of contactless as standard in the UK, by 2020 all point-of-sale terminals in Europe will be contactless enabled.

“The UK is a global leader in its use of contactless,” said Mark Barnett, president of Mastercard in the UK. “The technology has fast become synonymous with our everyday payments – it is faster and easier to use than cash and yet it affords more security.”

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