A new study published by Visa Europe has revealed that contactless payments uptake is exceeding expectations, with the chip card technology now available in twice as many countries as this time last year, while transactions have nearly tripled and terminals almost doubled.

In the UK - often seen as a benchmark for contactless growth - 30.3 million cards are now in circulation with 293,600 terminals installed. Access to the payment infrastructure and education about contactless meant that usage soared, resulting in contactless transactions increasing four fold in the year to September 2013, with £461.6 million spent with Visa contactless cards up from £96.7 million in the previous year.

Visa is also reporting a 20% surge in e-commerce transactions across European markets as the card scheme rolled out its V.me by Visa digital payments service in four countries - France, Spain, Poland and the UK.

In the year to September 2013, $764 million was spent with Visa contactless cards up from $160 million in the previous year.

The card scheme says it is firmly on track to realise its prediction that 50% of Visa transactions will be made through a mobile device by 2020.