Contactless payments expected to hit $1.6tn by 2024

Zainab Iwayemi

As consumers worldwide started avoiding cash for fear of spreading the virus, contactless payments technology has received the boost it needed for widespread global adoption.

Data by Buy Shares shows that contactless payments are expected to continue rising worldwide to hit a $665 billion transaction value in 2021 while the impressive growth is set to continue in the following years, doubling up and reaching over $1.6 trillion by 2024.

In addition to being quick, contactless payments are a secure and easy way to purchase products or services by simply holding a card or smartphone up to a payment reader for the transaction to proceed. Amid the pandemic, these tap-and-go payments became especially appealing to consumers allowing them to pay for goods and services without the need to swipe, enter a personal identification number, or sign for a transaction.

Similarly, contactless payment allows consumers to make payments by connecting their credit cards with a payment app like Apple Pay or Google Pay on their smartphone or smartwatch.

This payment method had over the years became widely known in China, Australia, Canada, South Korea, and the United Kingdom while the advent of COVID-19 bolstered the growth of contactless transactions in other parts of the world.

According to Statista and Juniper Research data, the global contactless payments market as of last year was worth $482.7 billion. As the tap-and-go payments system rose continuously, however, this figure is expected to jump by another 40 percent in 2021. Statistics further show that the surge is expected to linger on into 2022 and 2023 with their value rising by another $1 trillion by 2024.

As the leading region for this type of transaction, China and the Far East generate more than half of all contactless payments globally. In 2021, countries from the region are expected to generate $313.3 billion worth of transactions, 38 percent more than a year ago. By 2024, this figure is forecast to surge by 170 percent and hit an $849.1 billion value.