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eMoney News

Travellers turn to cashless payments
19 Jun 2012

The number of travellers making cashless payments while overseas is on the increase, according to new research from MasterCard.

Publishing its Global Destination Index, the credit card and contactless payments provider has revealed the popularity of cities around the world and the amount that visitors spend when travelling to them.

London is the world's most popular city with international visitors, with 16.9 million people expected to visit in 2012. This is followed by Paris (16 million) and Bangkok (12.2 million). New York came in at number 13 with 7.6 million visitors.

In terms of money spent by visitors, however, the top four had a different complexion. London was in first place with $21.1 billion (£13.5 billion), while New York came second (£19.4 billion) and Bangkok third ($19.3 billion).

Commenting on the findings, Dr Yuwa Hedrick-Wong, a global economic advisor for MasterCard Worldwide, said that researchers had spotted a clear increase in the number of eMoney cashless payments travellers are making.

"The trend is a response to an increasing demand for safe, simple and smart payments, and highlights the rising importance of cashless commerce for both business and leisure travel," he said.