ATLANTA — Contactless transactions saw a boost amid the pandemic and contactless payments are here to stay as adoption continues to tick up, according to Bank of America. 

“We look at a lot of data … the latest trends when it comes to consumers,” Juan Garrido, managing director and head of global banking merchant product at Bank of America, said at Fintech South 2024 on Aug. 28.  

One key trend is contactless payments, he said. In fact, according to the bank, 50% of transactions are now contactless while “a couple of years ago that was single digits.”

Of those transactions, 70% are accomplished with plastic through tapping features and the other 30% are through mobile devices, he said.  

During the bank’s second quarter, combined credit and debit purchase volumes reached $233.6 billion, up 3% year over year, according to the bank’s earnings presentation. 

According to the Juniper Research report “Global Contactless Payments Market Data: 2024-2029,” total contactless transaction volume will amount to $7.4 trillion in 2024 and is predicted to reach $15.7 trillion in 2029.  

Cities are payments hubs

Adoption of contactless payments is most prevalent in major cities, including New York and San Francisco, where it is driven by the use of mobile devices to pay for public transportation, Garrido said.  

The $3.2 trillion Bank of America is now focused on growing adoption at restaurants and fuel stations, he said.  

However, even with some verticals lagging on contactless payments, “adoption is happening and it’s going to continue to increase,” Garrido said.  

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