Contactless payments have become the norm in the UK, with data showing that more than half of adults now use mobile wallets.
A study from UK Finance found mobile wallet usage for both online and in-store purchases has increased, with roughly 57% of UK adults using them last year—up from 42% in 2023.
Mobile wallets are also becoming the preferred option for day-to-day, low-value transactions, reflecting a broader shift in consumer payment habits.
Notably, this adoption isn’t confined to younger generations. While usage is highest among younger adults, significant growth is being seen across all age groups.
A Central Role
As mobile devices have become central to the UK payments landscape, mobile banking has surpassed online banking as the most common way to access accounts. Approximately 75% of UK adults used mobile banking last year—often for more than just checking balances, with many conducting a wider range of transactions.
This growing reliance on mobile banking has also contributed to increased usage of the UK’s Faster Payments network, the country’s real-time payments system.
Faster Payments is the second most-used payment method in the UK, though card payments are still the country’s predominant payment method by a wide margin. Card transactions—including debit and credit cards, whether used physically or through mobile wallets—accounted for roughly 64% of all UK transactions, with debit cards leading the way.
The report also highlighted strong growth in buy now, pay later (BNPL) services: one in four UK adults used BNPL last year, up from 14% the year before.
The Central Hub
Digital payment methods—such as real-time payments, BNPL, and contactless transactions—are reshaping the global payments landscape. At the center of this shift are digital and mobile wallets, which serve as the central hub connecting these payment types.
With smartphones nearly ubiquitous and the simplicity of digital wallets, mobile payments are poised for continued growth. Meanwhile, cash usage continues to decline/ For the first time, cash accounted for less than 10% of all payments in the UK, according to the report.
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