THERE HAS BEEN a massive increase in the use of contactless payments over the last year, according to the Banking and Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI).

A total of €9.745 billion was spent via contactless payments from March 2020 to March 2021, with a total of 672 million transactions across that period.

In March 2021, there was €948 million worth of contactless payments recorded in Ireland, an increase of 72% on the previous March.

It comes as more businesses are encouraging people to pay by contactless, due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

The total volume of contactless payments in March 2021 was €60.2 million, which is an increase of 37% on the previous March.

Brian Hayes, the chief executive of the BPFI called the growth in contactless payments was “phenomenal”, saying that the pandemic has played a role in this shift.

“The increases we have seen over the last year in the use of contactless payments very clearly demonstrate the shift which has taken place from cash to digital payments,” said Hayes.

“The pandemic has undoubtedly played a considerable role in driving this change in consumer behaviour, something we expect to continue as the country begins to open back up again.”

The month with the highest spend using contactless was in December 2020, with €1.132 billion being spent and a total of 65.2 million transactions across the month.

The lowest spending over the last year recorded by the BPFI was in April 2020, where €470 million worth of contactless payments were made. A total of 30.9 million transactions make up this figure.

The figures recorded come from banks, including AIB, Avantcard, Bank of Ireland, Permanent TSB, Ulster Bank and KBC Bank Ireland. The figures also included data recorded through mobile phone payments, like Apple Pay or Google Pay.