One in two in-person Mastercard transactions worldwide are contactless

One in two in-person transactions authorised through Mastercard’s payment processing services worldwide during Q4 2021 were contactless, up from one in three in the period prior to the Covid-19 pandemic.

'We’re making great progress in expanding contactless acceptance by turning the world’s billions of active smartphones into potential acceptance devices, enabling people to buy and sell whenever, wherever they want,' Mastercard CEO Michael Miebach says.

In May 2021 Mastercard reported 1bn additional contactless transactions in Q1 2021 compared with the same period of 2020.