Contactless spending rises in restaurants and bars

Touch and go payments also increased by 79 per cent in pubs and bars and 69 per cent in fast food outlets.

It follows the launch of Google’s Android Pay​ – which comes pre-loaded on to many mobile handsets – in the UK in May.

Coffee chains including Starbucks and Pret A Manger and apps such as Deliveroo have signed up to the system.

Restaurants ranging from Nando's to Michelin-starred Lima​ have also been accepting Apple Pay, which allows users to pay using their iPhone or Apple Watch, since 2015.

Increasing trend​

According to Barclaycard half of UK consumers now use contactless payment at least once a month and one in five are planning to increase their usage in the next year.

In London almost half (47 per cent) of all transactions up to £30 are paid using contactless cards, up from just under a third in 2014.

Spending also rose across the UK’s largest cities, increasing 325 per cent in Manchester, 308 per cent in Glasgow and 266 per cent in Cardiff.

Tami Hargreaves, commercial director at Barclaycard, said: “No longer is contactless just reserved for the morning coffee or afternoon snack, as our data shows, Brits are turning to these payments for all types of purchases, from a supermarket top-up shop to stocking up on everyday essentials in discount stores and pharmacies.”

Barclaycard predicted that the growing popularity of mobile payments and wearable technology such as the Apple Watch would see more retailers beginning to accept touch and go sales in the future.

“We expect this upward trend to continue well into next year,” said Hargreaves.