ADOPTION: Contactless technology has ramped up rapidly since 2012. Click to enlarge.

Four out of every 10 smart payment cards shipped in 2014 (40%) were contactless, representing a year-on-year growth of 35% with much of the increase driven by Europe and Asia, the Smart Payment Association’s annual review of the card payment market has revealed. A total of over 1.5bn smart payment cards were shipped globally last year.

The US migration to EMV and “growing demand for contactless technologies” defined the high growth in the payment card market in 2014, the review found, with the US accounting for 185m cards and module shipments compared to 30m the year before. Almost 10% of those cards were contactless.

“In 2014, we saw banks and retailers respond to consumer demands for faster, more convenient and more secure ways to pay as contactless shipments grew to their highest levels,” says Sylvie Gibert, president of the SPA.

“Crucially, the continued and growing adoption of EMV-standard technology in the United States not only adds a greater security dimension, but offers contactless possibilities both on the card and through embedded secure elements within NFC-enabled mobile devices.”