Over €26m spent per day in February in contactless payments

Some 1.6 million contactless payments were made per day in February, according to new data.

In value terms, that averaged out at €26.2 million each day during the month versus €18 million in February 2020 when 1.5 million contactless payments were recorded.

Overall, a total of 46.2 million payments were made in February 2021, totalling a combined €733 million. This was an increase of 6.5 per cent in volume terms on the same month a year earlier and a 42 per cent jump in value.

Average payment value rose from €11.92 in February 2020 to €15.88 a year later. The dramatic increase was attributed to the introduction of the higher transaction limit of €50, which was introduced in April 2020 due to the Coivd-19 crisis.

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Ongoing shift

The figures were compiled by Banking and Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI), which represents all the leading financial institutions.

"The increases we have seen both in terms of the daily and monthly trends in the year to February once again highlights the popularity and growth in contactless payments particularly when you consider that the country has been in the midst of a Level 5 lockdown this February compared to a year ago when we were still living free of Covid restrictions of any sort," said Brian Hayes, chief executive of BPFI.

“This underlines the ongoing shift from cash to digital and the fundamental change in people’s behaviour which will undoubtedly continue beyond the current pandemic,” he added.