A new report by UK merchant payment provider, Dojo, part of the Paymentsense brand, reveals a sharp increase in the usage of contactless payments methods by consumers, accelerated by the coronavirus pandemic.

With the BBC reporting cash refusal ‘creeping into UK economy’, Dojo analysed their unique transaction data, amassed over the course of the pandemic, 2019-2021, to find out which UK cities used contactless and digital payments the most, and had the highest year-on-year (YoY) increase.

The findings have been listed and the UK’s Capital of Contactless Card Payments is ready to be revealed.

London ranks third on the list, while York takes the top spot of cities with the highest % uptake of contactless credit and debit card payments

Despite being the nation’s capital, a study has revealed that the city of York is the UK’s Card Payment Capital with an exponential increase in the use of contactless over the pandemic. London comes in third boasting a 10.4% year on year increase of cash-free transactions, behind Yorks 10.6% increase. The North Yorkshire city saw a staggering 84% of payments being made by contactless cards over the last year.

The port city of Plymouth, in Devon, was second with 82% of payments proving contactless (also a +10.6% YoY increase).