Almost 20m Brits have Contactless Cards

While there are 19.6m active contactless cards in the UK, only 12 per cent of the British population believe they own one, according to research from YouGov.

The ongoing Mobile Wallet study, which interviews over 2,500 respondents on a quarterly basis, also found low usage rates for contactless technology. 80 per cent of those who were aware of owning  cards have never used them for a contactless transaction, and only 5 per cent of owners use it more than once a week.

Where contactless technology is being used, it's largely in food and drink outlets, for small transactions – less than £10, in 74 per cent of cases.

Perhaps most worryingly, the findings of the latest quarterly study showed that the amounts contactless consumers are spending is decreasing. The first wave, conducted in May 2011, showed 34 per cent of consumers spending £10 to £15 – in November, that was just 18 per cent.

The study showed that there is a hunger for contactless payments, however - amongst those who own but don't use the technology, 59 per cent expressed a desire to use it for payments in future.