Smart phones and watches now dominate €26.7bn contactless payments in Ireland
More than half of all contactless payments are now made using ‘mobile wallets’ on devices like phones and watches.
Contactless payments now make up almost nine out of every 10 card payments in shops, restaurants, and retail outlets, with more than 1.5bn contactless payments made in 2024.
The Banking & Payments Federation Ireland’s (BPFI) Payments Monitor published on Monday shows that the value of contactless point of sale (POS) payments was €26.7bn in 2024, with an average of 296 contactless payments per person, with an average value of €17.52.
The report reveals that contactless payments accounted for 87.1% of all POS card payments in 2024, with more than half of all contactless payments now made using ‘mobile wallets’ on devices like phones and watches, using apps like Apple Pay or Google Pay, rather than cards.
“Smartphones and watches have emerged as the preferred payment device over physical cards for many consumers. Out of 296 contactless payments made per person in Ireland on Irish cards in 2024, 159 of these were mobile wallet payments,” said BPFI head of payments Gillian Byrne.
A consumer survey on payments behaviour in Ireland, conducted by BPFI for the report, also shows that most consumers are aware of and confident in using many banking and payment technologies such as instant payments and facial recognition. However, less than half are familiar with open banking services, which enable customers to share their banking data with third parties to provide additional financial management tools.
The survey indicated that respondents aged over 55 were least confident in using any of the new banking and payment technologies, while females were significantly less confident than males in using robots or making payments with digital currency. The survey also noted consumers favour human contact over robot or AI-based support.
Only a quarter of consumers are aware of plans for a digital euro, the digital cash proposal from the European Central Bank. The ECB will decide in October whether to move on to the next phase of its rollout.
“These results highlight the need for greater consumer awareness of open banking, as recommended in the department of finance’s national payment strategy, as well as the need to raise awareness about the digital euro and its potential impact,” said Ms Byrne. “It also shows the need for enhanced consumer confidence in new financial technologies, especially among older consumers who consistently reported the lowest levels of awareness and confidence in newer banking and payment technologies.”
