Irish Examiner view: Beware of a headlong switch over to contactless payments

As well as considering the wishes of citizens who choose cash, we should bear in mind that almost three quarters of Irish consumers have been targeted by online fraudsters

A customer making a contactless payment.  File picture: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg

We should save our breath before cheering too lustily for the upbeat welcome for the increase in contactless payments in Ireland. While supporters of the transition to the cashless society will parade the fact that Irish consumers now carry out €51m of payments every day, with average sums rising from €16.40 last year to €17.05 now, this is but part of the story.

The Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) shows the volume of contactless payments rose by 17.6% year-on-year to €268.7m in the first three months of 2023, reaching 3m a day. The BPFI proclaims that this shows a “continued consumer preference”.