December sees record month for Irish contactless payments
Written by Robert McHugh, on 29th Jan 2021. Posted in Technology
The latest figures published this week by Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) say December was another record month for contactless payments with the monthly value of contactless spending surpassing €1 billion for the first time.
The volume and value of contactless payments in the fourth quarter of 2020 meanwhile rose by 23.7% and 63.4% year on year to 174 million payments worth €2.8 billion.
While payments fell in November 2020, due in part to the Covid-19 restrictions imposed in late October, activity rebounded in December, when the monthly value of contactless payments exceeded €1 billion. Daily volumes rose to 2.1 million per day, surpassing the previous peak on 2.01 million in September, while daily values jumped to €36.5 million.
A plan by a group of Irish banks to set up an instant money-transfer app to take on the likes of Revolut and N26 has hit a stumbling block, as the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) pushed back their application to set up a joint venture because they did not provide enough information.
Project
The project is being co-ordinated by Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) and Italian fintech giant Sia has been lined up to provide the technology.
âFollowing a preliminary review of the notification, the CCPC has formed the view that the notifying parties have not provided full details of the proposed transaction as required,â the CCPC said in a statement on Thursday evening.