Nearly 80 percent of all transactions in Northampton have been contactless since beginning of pandemic, study finds

A new study focussing on a cashless society has found that Northampton has one of the highest percentage of card payments in the country.

Nearly 80 percent of all transactions in the town since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic have been cashless.

The 79 percent figure puts Northampton at eighth in the county for the highest rate of cashless payments, behind the likes of Brighton, Bristol and Cardiff and is a nine percent increase on the cashless rates for the town in 2019.

Conducted by UK merchant service provider, Paymentsense, the study looked at how the pandemic has affected how the public spends money and how much closer the country is to a completely cashless society.

Jon Knott, head of customer insight at Paymentsense, said: “Coronavirus has undoubtedly forced change in our lives and shopping habits.

“As more businesses refuse cash as a precaution against Covid, it makes perfect sense that the use of contactless cards are on the up this year, more than ever.

“Our findings confirm that major cities and towns are transitioning to a cashless society at a rapid pace.

“With the pandemic ongoing, it seems that a cashless Britain may be here sooner than we thought.”

The study also found that digital contactless payments, such as Apple and Google pay, in Northampton have increased by five percent in the last six months.

Find the full study here.

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