The new figures from The UK Cards Association mean that total contactless spending in 2015 was more than double the previous seven years combined. In 2014, £2.32 bn was spent using contactless.

There were a total of 1.05 billion contactless purchases in 2015, up 228 per cent on the previous year. Contactless spending was up 233 per cent on 2014.

Around half of all debit and credit cards are now contactless, with a total of 79.3 million cards featuring the technology.

Graham Peacop, chief executive of The UK Cards Association, said: “The swift increase in contactless usage continued apace last year, with nearly one in eight card transactions now using the technology. Whether it’s to stock up in the supermarket, travel to work, or buy your lunch, contactless is a fast, easy and secure way to make payments.”

Recent figures from Transport for London (TfL) showed that more than one million journeys are now made on the network every day using contactless.