DATA released by Barclaycard has shown a staggering increase in the use of contactless spending with cards in Worcester, in the past year.

Touch and go use in the city has risen by 129 per cent in the last 12 months and overtaken chip and PIN as the most popular way to pay.

After Sainsbury's rolled out contactless in late 2016 it meant all the major supermarkets accept the payment method, leading to contactless payments rocketing by 136 per cent in supermarkets in the past year.

It’s not just supermarkets seeing a rise as other sectors have seen a steep year-on-year increase in touch and go spending including service stations, up 218 per cent, department stores, up 147 per cent, discount stores, up 120 per cent, and hotels and motels up 100 per cent.

Tami Hargreaves, commercial director of digital consumer payments at Barclaycard, said: “The days of the weekly food shop are gone for many Brits.

"While a couple of hours spent browsing store aisles will always be preferred by some, there is a clear shift towards speed and convenience, coupled with several top-up shops throughout the week.

"This change in consumer behaviour lends itself to the sharp increase in touch and go we’re seeing in the supermarket sector.

“As grocery buying habits continue to evolve, supermarkets have an opportunity to make the payments process quicker and easier too.

"We all remember the days when tills were reserved for five items or less to reduce queuing times. In the future we may see contactless fast lanes or contactless-only check-outs in stores to speed up the payment process for time-pressed shoppers.”

In January Barclaycard announced the successful launch of the contactless donation box trial supporting 11 national charities, including NSPCC and RNLI.

The portable boxes were developed as it was revealed that charities may be missing out on more than £80m in donations each year by only accepting cash.