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Going Cashless & The Rise Of Contactless Payments: 2021 Stats


By: Ian Wright | Last Updated: April 25, 2025

The days of carrying cash on your person are slowly fading with card and mobile payments starting to dominate transactions across the world. We’ve looked at the true value of going cashless and how it’s affected different industries.

Sections

  • UK Approval/Disapproval of a Cashless Society
  • Cashless Payment Revenue By Country
  • The Value of Cashlessness
  • Number of Transactions
  • Average Monthly Spend on Card
  • Average Transaction Value
  • Contactless Payments
    • Contactless payment spending increase in the United Kingdom (UK), by category
    • Percentage of payments received that are contactless
    • Contactless payment spending increase in the UK by city in 2017
  • Other Popular Guides

UK Approval/Disapproval of a Cashless Society

AgeApproveDisapproveI don't know
16 to 2447%34%19%
25 to 3451%36%13%
35 to 4439%47%13%
45 to 5429%57%13%
55 to 6421%67%12%
65 and older21%69%10%

Cashless Payment Revenue By Country

We’ve looked at European countries to see who are adopting a cashless society quicker than others.

Revenue generated with cashless payments in the EU member states from 2013 to 2017 (in trillion euros)

YearRevenue in trillion euros
2013261
2014256.1
2015277.1
2016280.8
2017290
COUNTRYEU countries with the highest revenue
in cashless payments in 2017 (in trillion euros)
Number of debit card transactions
in Europe 2017 (millions)
United Kingdom106.717,173
Germany55.83,284.7
France27.28,335.1
Netherlands23.74,101.2
Poland13.43,480.4
Spain11.62,519.6
Czech Republic11.3767.9
Italy9.11,941
Belgium6.31,632.1
Hungary4.2579.9
Finland31,492.4
Austria3575.7
Ireland2.7687.8
Sweden22,778
Luxembourg1.870.7
Portugal1.6N/A
Romania1.6402.7
Slovakia1.3374.7
Denmark12,053
Greece0.8407.3
Bulgaria0.4100.6
Latvia0.3239.3
Croatia0.3188.4
Slovenia0.3132.7
Cyprus0.339.2
Estonia0.2283.6
Lithuania0.2250.5
Malta0.220.5

The Value of Cashlessness

Over time, the use of cards for payments has become increasingly popular, but to what extent? We’ve studied the time of change in the cashless world.

YearDomestic Transactions (£ Millions)International Transactions (£ Millions)
2006 194,592 4,985
2007 215,084 5,186
2008 233,277 5,573
2009 265,846 5,551
2010 307,860 7,452
2011 339,479 9,454
2012 345,040 14,521
2013 375,269 17,651
2014 407,139 25,042
2015 445,530 35,819
2016 484,097 42,823
2017 505,390 40,474

Number of Transactions

YearDomestic Transactions (Millions)International Transactions (Millions)
2006 4,472 82
2007 4,759 87
2008 5,210 88
2009 5,843 95
2010 6,357 163
2011 7,324 255
2012 7,675 449
2013 8,293 628
2014 9,074 977
2015 10,102 1,349
2016 11,469 1,579
2017 12,602 1,507

Average Monthly Spend on Card

YearDomestic TransactionsInternational Transactions
2006£236.00£6.10
2007£250.00£6.00
2008£255.00£6.10
2009£280.00£5.80
2010£303.00£7.30
2011£328.00£9.10
2012£316.00£13.30
2013£327.00£15.40
2014£352.00£21.60
2015£376.00£30.20
2016£405.00£35.80
2017£422.40£33.84

Average Transaction Value

YearDomestic TransactionsInternational Transactions
2006£43.51£60.85
2007£45.20£59.31
2008£44.78£63.09
2009£45.50£58.30
2010£48.43£45.77
2011£46.35£37.05
2012£44.95£32.31
2013£45.25£28.09
2014£44.87£25.64
2015£44.10£26.55
2016£42.21£27.11
2017£40.12£26.83

Contactless Payments

Beginning in 2007, contactless payments provide consumers with a fast and easy way to pay. The technology has become hugely popular in recent years and we’ve looked at where these effects have been felt in terms of sectors and regions. Not to mention online payments on ecommerce platforms.

Contactless payment spending increase in the United Kingdom (UK), by category

CategoryPercentage increase in spending
Clothing stores321%
Parking lots137%
Department stores126%
Supermarkets124%
Gift, card & novelty shops105%
Convenience stores101%
Hotels, motels & resorts96%
Hardware stores89%
Discount stores83%
Household appliance stores61%
Pubs and bars60%
Caterers54%
Fast food outlets52%
Restaurants47%
Drug stores & pharmacies44.%

Percentage of payments received that are contactless

Category% of payments that are contactless
Public Transport91%
Bakers and Dairies56%
Food and Drink53%
Books, Newspapers, Magazines 49%
Chemists45%
Supermarkets39%
Amusement Parks39%

Contactless payment spending increase in the UK by city in 2017

CityPercentage increase in spending
Derby45%
Chester44%
Newcastle upon Tyne42%
Coventry42%
Stoke on Trent41%
Exeter40%
Birmingham40%
Oxford40%
Leeds39%
Ipswich39%

Sources:

  • UK Finance Debit Card Report
  • Statista.com
  • UK Finance
  • bankingtech.com

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