Record €600m in contactless payments made in May

The average daily spend is an increase of 7% compared to the spending in February prior to the Covid-19 restrictions.

Irish people spent more than €19m per day in contactless payments last month as the Covid-19 restrictions saw consumers abandon cash payments.

Latest figures from the Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) show a strong recovery in the value of contactless payments as spending reached almost €600m, the highest monthly total to date.

The average daily spend is an increase of 7% compared to the spending in February prior to the Covid-19 restrictions. In volume terms, contactless payment usage was 1.25m, down from 1.51m ‘taps’ per day in February.

The figures indicate that consumers are spending more than before through contactless payments with the May figures accounting for the highest value on record this year.

With the contactless limit increased to €50 during April in response to the COVID-19 crisis, the figures also show an increase in the average contactless transaction which reached €15.30 in May, up from €11.92 in February.

Brian Hayes, Chief Executive BPFI said the figures show a strong recovery in the values of contactless payments for May and is likely a result of the increase in the contactless limit to €50.

“The volume of contactless payments were down in May when compared to February before Covid-19 hit, however, this must be seen in the context of the restrictions which only started to ease during the second half of May," he said.

Mr Hayes said they expect that contactless volumes should show a recovery in the months ahead as more restrictions are lifted.