As 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.
By analysing nationwide transactions from 2018, Paymentsense have created an interactive map exploring the UK’s cashless capitals, detailing the cities with the highest proportion of debit, credit, contactless and all transactions.
Bristol revealed as the contactless capital of the UK
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.
London capital of all card payments
Unsurprisingly, London leads the way with a whopping 93m total card transactions. That’s up a huge 33m from 60m in 2017! The capital now accounts for over 20% of all card transactions in the UK.
Top ten cities for contactless card transactions
- Bristol – 73.14%,
- Hull – 72.84%
- London – 72.48%
- Durham – 71.64%
- Hemel Hempstead – 70.48%
- Slough – 70.17%
- York – 69.49%
- Birmingham – 68.52%
- Sunderland – 68.36%
- Leeds – 68.32%
Guy Moreve, Chief Marketing Officer at Paymentsense, says: “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.”