More than a billion contactless payments in UK highlight potential for Apple Pay

If you’re frustrated by the limited number of retailers supporting Apple Pay, there’s hope from across the Atlantic. New figures reported by the Guardian show that there were more than a billion contactless payments in the UK last year, accounting for one in six of all card transactions.

The UK got a big head-start on the U.S. in contactless payment technology, issuing the first contactless cards in 2008. In big cities, at least, contactless terminals are almost ubiquitous, offered by the majority of retailers – and the figures show that ‘if you build it, they will come.’

A separate report in the Financial Times recently quoted Richard Koch, head of policy at the UK Cards Association, commenting on the rapid acceleration of contactless payment in the country.

It took almost eight years for monthly contactless spending to reach half a billion pounds — now it’s grown by the same amount in just four months

The popularity of contactless payment once the terminals are in place will hopefully spur U.S. retailers to up the pace of adoption. Banks at least appear to be playing their part, with new banks being added to the full list almost every week.

Via The Verge