The continuous surge of ‘touch and go’ payments is expected to save UK shoppers nearly 141 million hours, that equates to around £967m worth of time, by 2021, according to a new study from Barclaycard.

Unlike Chip and PIN transaction that takes 15 seconds to execute, the contactless payment just takes seven seconds to complete.

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‘Touch and go’ spending is likely to jump by more than 317% by 2021 as six (59%) in 10 Brits use the technology to pay more frequently than one year ago.

The study further reveals that two in five retailers now only accept card payments or plan to become completely cash-free in the next five years.

Retailers who accept contactless have witnessed their sales surging by an average of 30% and over half would like the spending limit raised above £30.

‘Touch and go’ will become mandatory for retailers in the UK who process card payments from 1 January 2020.

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Speed and ease are crucial factors for Brits while shopping. Over one in two (55%) consumers choose to pay with ‘touch and go’ because it saves them time, with almost half (48%) enjoying the convenience of not needing to enter their PIN every time they pay.

According to the data, retailers are simultaneously embracing cards over cash, with two in five (40%) either solely accepting card payments or considering going entirely cash-free within the next five years.

Despite growing demand, half of all retailers still do not accept contactless payments due to lack of awareness around the speed of ‘touch and go’.

Barclaycard Mobile Payments director of innovation and partnerships Tami Hargreaves said: “As the old adage goes ‘time is money’ and since introducing contactless to the UK 10 years ago, we’ve seen Brits embrace the technology in their droves. And with speed, security and convenience all being so important for shoppers, it’s not surprising that contactless is quickly becoming the most popular way to pay.”