Visa Europe: 1M POS now accept contactless payment across Europe; spend grows six fold in 12 months

London, UK, 04-10-2013 — /EuropaWire/ — European consumers have made 211 million contactless purchases in the last 12 months (August 2012 to July 2013), according to figures released today from Visa Europe. The monthly contactless spend has also increased six fold to €285 million in July 2013 as consumers have become increasingly comfortable with using contactless technology.

In the 12 months since Visa’s Flow Faster advertising campaign starring Usain Bolt, €1.8 billion has been spent on contactless Visa cards, with an average purchase value of €8.63.

Mark Austin, Vice President – Head of Contactless at Visa Europe said: “A year ago we launched the Contactless 2012 campaign to raise public awareness of contactless technology and the convenience and flexibility it brings to day to day payments. We are delighted to see the technology now being used so frequently across Europe as consumers become confident in making every day contactless payments and we’re excited about the number of new shops due to roll out contactless payment in the remainder of 2013.”

Contactless payments across Europe:

There were 30 million purchases made in July 2013, representing a total spend of €285 million spent (compared to 6.8 million purchases and €48.5 million spent in July 2012)
There are currently 69 million Visa contactless cards and more than 1 million contactless terminals across Europe
The average value of a contactless purchase in Europe is €8.63

Visa contactless cardholders can pay quickly and securely by simply tapping the contactless reader with their enabled card at the point of sale for purchases of €20 or less.

Contactless statistics by market:

France

370,000 contactless purchases in July 2013
The average value of a contactless purchase in France in July 2013 is €11.11
More than 8.3 million contactless cards (2.5 million in July 2012) a 229% increase year on year
166,000 contactless terminals (66,450 in July 2012) a 150% increase year on year

Poland

13.7 million contactless purchases in July 2013
The average value of a contactless purchase in Poland in July 2013 is €6.18
More than 10.1 million contactless cards (6.8 million in July 2012) a 50% increase year on year
140,000 contactless terminals (75,000 in July 2012) a 87% increase year on year

Slovakia

2.1 million contactless purchases in July 2013
The average value of a contactless purchase in Slovakia in July 2013 is €8.62
More than 1.6 million contactless cards (713,000 in July 2012) a 128% increase year on year
13,065 contactless terminals (6,536 in July 2012) a 100% increase year on year

Spain

1.7 million contactless purchases in July 2013
The average value of a contactless purchase in Spain in July 2013 is €34.39
More than 4.0 million contactless cards (1.4 million in July 2012) a 171% increase year on year
266,020 contactless terminals (48,689 in July 2012) a 446% increase year on year

Turkey

670,000 contactless purchases in July 2013
The average value of a contactless purchase in Turkey in July 2013 is €9.25
More than 6.3 million contactless cards (4.4 million in July 2012) a 43% increase year on year
76,329 contactless terminals (56,999 in July 2012) a 34% increase year on year

8.6 million contactless purchases in July 2013
The average value of a contactless purchase in the UK in July 2013 is £6.22
More than 29.8 million contactless cards (24.7 million in July 2012) a 21% increase year on year
288,009 contactless terminals (121,741 in July 2012) a 137% increase year on year
More than 4 million Visa contactless journeys have been made on London buses since December 2012

Notes

Monthly figures from July 2013
Annual figures from August 2012 – July 2013

For more information about Visa’s contactless and mobile payment showcase during last summer, read:

About Visa Europe

Visa Europe is a payments technology business owned and operated by member banks and other payment service providers from 37 countries across Europe.

Visa Europe works at the forefront of technology to create the services and infrastructure which enable millions of European consumers, businesses and governments to make electronic payments. Its members are responsible for issuing cards, signing up retailers and deciding cardholder and retailer fees.

Visa Europe operates a high volume, low cost business model that provides services to its members. Its surplus is reinvested into the business and used to improve capital and reserves. In the last six years, Visa Europe has invested over €1 billion in new technology and infrastructure.

Since 2004, Visa Europe has been independent of Visa Inc. and incorporated in the UK, with an exclusive, irrevocable and perpetual licence in Europe. Both companies work in partnership to enable global Visa payments. As a dedicated European payment system Visa Europe is able to respond quickly to the specific market needs of European banks and their customers – cardholders and retailers – and to meet the European Commission’s objective to create a true internal market for payments.

For more information:
Visit www.visaeurope.com
Follow @VisaEuropeNews