For the first time, card payments constituted 51% of all payments in the UK in 2019, according to a study published by UK Finance.

The report reveals that debit cards accounted for 17 billion payments last year, of which seven billion were contactless.

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The credit cards usage also increased 7% to 3.3 billion payments, of which 1.3 billion payments were contactless.

The contactless payments for both debit and credit cards surged 16% to a total of 8.6 billion payments.

Supermarkets were the most popular place for the contactless payments in 2019, the report added.

Additionally, all age groups with 79% of people aged over 65 years preferred shopping online in 2019.

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Last year, as many as 48 million adults in the country purchased goods and services over the internet.

UK Finance said that the increase in contactless payments may have prepared customers to face the challenges produced by the Covid-19 lockdown.

UK Finance CEO Stephen Jones said: “With consumers already using contactless payments and remote banking more than in previous years, these technological advances have allowed many people to shop and make payments safely from home or in-store.”

Simultaneously, cash payments plunged 15% to 9.3 billion payments due to the adoption of online shopping and card acceptance by retailers in the country.

The study also found that 7.4 million people in 2019 preferred not to use cash or use cash only once a month compared to 3.4 million people in 2017.

Over 80% of adults used online, remote or telephone banking services in 2019 compared to 60% back in 2009.

The report added that over 98% of the country’s population had a debit card in 2019. However, access to cash still remains a major requirement for many people.

Jones added: “We are fully aware that not all customers are digitally-enabled which is why we are working flat out to ensure people have access to cash and everyday banking services remain available to help the country through these difficult times.”