New Consumer Spend data from Barclays’ annual contactless trends report has revealed that 2023 was another record-breaking year for ‘touch and pay’, with the fastest growth coming among the over 65s.
Usage grew across all age demographics, and the gap between older and younger audiences continues to narrow. The percentage of active users among 85-95-year-olds crossed 80% for the first time. More broadly, for the third year in a row, over-65s were the fastest growing segment for contactless usage, up 4.1% year-on-year.
Mobile wallets are also gaining ground, particularly with younger shoppers, while Chip and PIN and cash are the preferences for purchases over £100. Barclays says that more than one in five (22%) of those aged 18-34 regularly leave their wallet behind when out shopping in favour of paying with their smartphone, in comparison to just one per cent of over 75s.
Across the population as a whole, a record 93.4% of all in-store card transactions up to £100 were made using contactless in 2023, and in total there were 7.8" more ‘touch and go’ transactions than in 2022.
Karen Johnson, head of retail at Barclays says: “Since we rolled out contactless payments to the UK in 2007, it has firmly cemented itself as the UK’s favourite payment method, thanks to its speed and convenience. Given the growing number of cashless businesses, I’m pleased to see that many older shoppers are embracing touch and go, and that the gap in contactless usage between age demographics continues to narrow."