One in every seven Visa transactions in Ireland is contactless, with two such payments per second now taking place nationwide, according to the payment provider’s latest figures.
The figures also reveal that Irish consumers are some of the most card savvy in Europe, with more than €1 in every €3 spent in the country coming from card transactions. In 2012, this figure was €1 in every €7.
Irish consumers spent a record €31.7 billion through debit, credit and prepaid Visa cards in 2015, up 12 per cent on 2014.
The number of transactions in 2015 also rose by 16% to 584 million. Interestingly, this increase was driven by a lower average transaction value (which fell 4%), as customers became more comfortable with paying for smaller items with cards.
Visa has also reported that Irish consumers are buying more online, with spending up by 17% to €6.5 billion. Online spending now accounts for more than a fifth (21%) of Irish Visa transactions.
Visa Europe’s country manager for Ireland, Philip Konopik commented on the figures, "Consumers and retailers today are more willing to use Visa card payments in a variety of scenarios – signing up to an online subscription service like Netflix, entering payment details into a mobile app like Hailo, or using contactless Visa cards for lunch."
He added that, "The pace of change is now accelerating as evidenced by the growth of contactless payments and online shopping in Ireland.
"While we have had a strong year, the truth is that the cashless payment journey has only just begun and our focus now is to engage and partner with businesses of all sizes to build propositions that will serve their customers and increase the appeal of Visa payments – making life a touch easier.”
© 2016 - Checkout Magazine by Jenny Whelan.
