The latest research from Vianet, the leading SMART machine provider for the vending and hospitality industries, has revealed that all ages are adopting contactless payment, with every age cohort at least twice as likely to use contactless payment for lunch than a year ago.

The research, which has been taken from a proportionally representative panel of 2,000 consumers, discovered that one in three people believe their preferred method of payment for vending will change in the next six months, all age groups stated card payment would be their new preference.

The statistics reflect figures from the Barclaycard Contactless Spending Index, which states that consumers aged 60 and over have the fastest-rising acceptance of touch-and-go payments, with the number of users up 116 per cent in 2016, more than any other age group.

Matt Lane, Vianet's Managing Director, said, “The rapid shift from cash to contactless amongst customers who have grown up with cash cannot be ignored. This group have an affinity with tangible notes and coins, but are still switching to contactless, which speaks volumes.

“With the UK Card Association predicting that 50% of debit card transactions will be contactless by 2026, usage of touch-and-go amongst all ages is only going to rise. In recognition of this, operators and associations across all industries are targeting all ages and adapting their payment systems to cater for contactless. Even the Church of England has started trialling contactless readers for collections.

“The statistics and insight clearly show that contactless payment is an anomaly in the tech world, with widespread adoption across all age groups and industries. Now is the time for vending operators to embrace it, smooth the customer journey and attract more custom by providing a contactless payment option.”

(source: Vianet)