LONDON—For the first time, electronic debit card payments in the U.K. have outnumbered cash purchases.
Trade association U.K. Finance credits the rising popularity of contactless payments, as well as smartphones and online shopping, as reasons for the shift, which occurred last year, Quartz reported.
Consumers in the U.K. made 13.2 billion payments via debit card in 2017, compared with 13.1 billion using cash.
Contactless payments surged, jumping 97%, to account for 5.6 billion transactions, according to the report. The supermarket was the most popular place for people to tap their contactless cards, accounting for 38% of all such payments, stated Quartz in its analysis.