Eight in ten payment terminals across the world now accept contactless payments

More than eight in ten payment terminals worldwide now accept contactless payments (82%) as the number of outlets accepting card payments globally grew by 2% in 2021 to reach 88m and the number of eftpos terminals increased by 5% to reach 134, research by RBR shows.

The firm’s ‘Global Payment Cards Data and Forecasts to 2027’ report identifies the Covid-19 pandemic together with government mandates and incentives such as tax breaks as key drivers for this growth, and predicts that the number of eftpos terminals will continue to rise, reaching a global total of 165m across 109m outlets by 2027.

In some countries, card acceptance is expanding rapidly but this is not translating into surges in card expenditure due to competition from alternative cashless payment methods.