MasterCard will allow ‘high-value’ mobile contactless payments across all contactless terminals in Europe by 2017, in the latest acknowledgement of the phenomenal growth of contactless payments.
While the limit for contactless cards is currently £30 per day in the UK, selected retailers accept higher value transactions if authenticated through a mobile service such as Apple Pay.
By 2020, contactless will be available at every point of sale in Europe, MasterCard has pledged.
The daily limit increased in September. According to the UK Cards Association, contactless spending in the UK rose from £287 million per month in January 2015 to £567 million in June 2015.
2015 has already seen more spend on contactless than the whole of 2014, totalling £2.5 billion compared to £2.32 billion. The year to July 2014 saw a 373 percent increase in the value of transactions, showing accelerating adoption.
Deloitte’s Mobile Consumer report found that the number of UK adults who have made mobile payments in the year to May 2015 rose from 3 percent to 13 percent of respondents. The research also found only 1 percent use their phones to make payments on a daily basis.
The most common reason for eschewing mobile payments was security, cited by 42 percent, while 35 percent did not see the benefits of the technology and 22 percent lacked the necessary feature or app on their phone.
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Chris Kangas, Head of Contactless Payments Europe at MasterCard said: "The list of retailers accepting contactless never stops growing. Over the last quarter, we have announced new acceptance deals across Europe with major retailers like Ikea and McDonald’s.
"The drive to full contactless acceptance is taking hold. In July 2015, 43 percent of new terminals installed had contactless capability which is up from 21 percent the previous year."
Javier Perez, President MasterCard Europe, said: "Consumers in 40 European countries are endorsing the contactless payment experience as part of their day-to-day life. 61 percent of MasterCard in-store transactions are contactless in the Czech Republic, while similar growth trends are being seen in Poland (41 percent), in Hungary (27 percent) and in Slovakia (27 percent).
"Every time consumers see the contactless logo, they can use any contactless enabled device whether it’s a card, a mobile phone or another contactless enabled form factor to pay at home but also abroad".
