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Cashless payments 'up by 160%'
12 Feb 2010

The number of cashless payments made in Europe between 2000 and 2008 has increased by more than 160 per cent, it has been revealed. 

Retail Banking Research (RBR) has found that some 87 billion cashless transactions took place during this period, with two-thirds of them occurring in the Euro-zone, ATM Marketplace reports. 

The figures reveal that western Europe has seen the largest uptake in cashless payments, with 90 per cent of the purchases of this type taking place in this area. 

RBR said that one of the reasons why eMoney transactions have taken hold in western Europe on such a grand scale is because many retail institutions in the UK have stopped accepting cheques as a method of payment.

Similarly, it has predicted that the increasing use of contactless smart cards and mobile phone eMoney will contribute to a further increase in cashless transactions.

Paper money payments are forecast to decline by an annual value of 2.3 per cent in Europe by 2014, the research group stated. 

The UK Payments Council recently revealed that central cheque clearing in Britain will close by 2018, paving the way for an increasing number of cashless payments.