The number of contactless payments made in June increased by 37 per cent compared to the same month of 2020, according to figures released by the Banking and Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI).
The value of these payments, which equated to 2.4 million transactions every day in June, rose to €1.2 billion, an increase of 43 per cent.
The average payment value also increased during the year, rising from €15.57 in 2020 to €16.19 this year.
For April-June, payments were up by 62 per cent compared to the same quarter in 2020, totalling 199 million. The value of the payments during Q2 also saw an increase on last year's figures, rising by 68 per cent to almost €3.2 billion, the highest quarterly figures since the BPFI's data series began.
The move away from cash, spurred on by the Covid-19 pandemic, has seen the value of contactless payments more than treble over a three-year period, the BPFI said.
Commenting on the figures, BPFI chief executive Brian Hayes said: "The increase we have seen in contactless spending during the course of June reflects the easing of Covid-related restrictions on many businesses, including hospitality, during this period and is a trend we expect to continue in the months ahead."
