The number of contactless transactions made by some 140 million JCB cardholders across 24 markets increased by more than 30% between July 2019 and July this year, the Tokyo-based payments network reports in a new white paper.

Payment Perspectives and Future-Gazing also says that online ecommerce has “soared”, with the top 50 online retailers outside Japan reporting a year-on-year increase in spending of 15% for February 2020.

“Data shows that JCB Contactless saw an over 30% increase year-on-year in July 2020,” the white paper states.

“As we emerge from the global pandemic, mobile payments are likely to continue their rapid growth trajectory, supported by Europe, the Asia Pacific and the current market leaders — China and the United States.”

“The trends in consumer behaviour evident before 2020 are being accelerated,” the paper continues.

“For instance, online shopping has soared, especially in sectors where take-up was previously low, like groceries and small transactional purchases.

“Spending at the top 50 online retailers outside of Japan increased by 15% year-on-year for February 2020 and ecommerce spending peaks occurred in January, July and December in 2019 outside of Japan.”

The report also analyses other trends in the payments market, including consumer expectations among Asian millennials and “big topics on the horizon”, such as moves towards a cashless society and developments in security, biometrics and authentication.

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