Singaporeans have made more than 1 million Visa payWave transactions in August.

That makes the city-state the fastest growing Visa payWave market in the world.

The high acceptance of the contactless payment is brought by growing number of retailers and consumers embracing it, says Visa.

“By surpassing the one million Visa payWave monthly transaction mark, there is no denying that Singapore is a country where contactless payments are taking off,” said Ooi Huey Tyng, Visa country manager, Singapore and Brunei.

There are currently more than 12,000 Visa payWave retail acceptance points across the state, including NTUC FairPrice, Giant, Cold Storage and Market Place.

The number of Visa payWave cards issued in Singapore has increased from 1 million in the beginning of this year to 1.5 million now, a number expected to increase to 2 million by the end of the year as adoption grows.

The payWave card has an embedded antenna and microchip, enabling contactless communication with a reader at the checkout. The transaction is processed through the same secure Visa network used for all Visa transactions. Cardholders can simply wave their Visa payWave card over a secure reader to pay and go.