Contactless payments are exploding in popularity and adoption across Europe, with over 1bn transactions made in the last 12 months, totalling over €12.6bn (£8.9bn) in sales paid for using contactless technology.

According to the data released by Visa, the UK is leading the charge in adoption, with 49.6m contactless cards in circulation, along with relatively high awareness and adoption of contactless mobile payment solutions, which will only increase following the launch of Apple Pay in the UK this month.

The UK also boasts the most money spent using contactless payments, with €330m spent in March 2015 alone, 410,000 terminals equipped with contactless tech, and adoption of contactless cards up 37 per cent year-on-year compared to March 2014.

The rest of Europe is not far behind though. France has 20.3m cards in circulation and 405,000 terminals, followed by Poland (14.5m cards, 354,000 terminals) and Spain (11.5m cards, 593,000 terminals).

Across Europe, 131m Visa contactless cards are now in circulation, and 2.6m terminals now accept contactless transactions, either via cards or mobiles. By 2020, all point-of-sale terminals in Europe will accept contactless payments, and will 240 banks across the continent issuing contactless cards and mobile payment adoption growing exponentially, the vast majority of account holders will have a contactless-capable device by 2020.

“Contactless momentum continues to build as more and more people discover its often the quickest and most convenient way to pay for everyday things,” said Sandra Alzetta, executive director of core products at Visa Europe. “The popularity of contactless will only increase in future as we experience the next generation of digital payments, where the simplicity and convenience is extended to mobile and wearable NFC technology.”