Nearly half of Brits don’t always check the amount before making a contactless payment

Research finds

Research by Yolt, the money management app, shows that over three quarters (76 per cent) of Britons have used contactless payments and 40 per cent now make half or more of their card payments using contactless. However, nearly half (48 per cent) aren’t always checking the amount before they tap to pay.

Young people (those aged 18-34) are the least likely to check the amount before paying, with only four in ten (39 per cent) doing so every time they pay.  Customers aged 55 or over are more vigilant, with 62 per cent saying they check the amount every time they use contactless.

A total of 82 per cent of Londoners have used contactless payments, making it the most popular city in the UK for this type of transaction. However, only 38 per cent of Londoners said they always checked the amount before using contactless to pay.

According to the British Retail Consortium, contactless payments now account for a third of all card transactions in the UK*. Data from UK Finance** shows that on average 416.3m contactless payments are made each month totalling £3.913m. Yolt’s research shows that – although the UK was introduced to contactless payments in 2007 – 81 per cent of people don’t think it has affected their spending patterns. Just 8 per cent of consumers think they spend more since they started using contactless payments.

Pauline van Brakel, Chief Customer Officer at Yolt, says, “We know everyone is in a hurry. That’s why at Yolt, we’re making it more convenient than ever to track your money. So even if you don’t check every time you tap your contactless card, you can easily review your spending on your smartphone.”