The Co-operative has installed contactless payment terminals in 1,800 of its 2,800 food stores with plans to use the technology in all UK food stores by 2014.

The technology - which The Co-op first implemented in 170 of its Manchester and London based food stores last year to coincide with the Olympics - allows customers to purchase goods worth up to £20 with a single tap.

'Customer reaction to the contactless payment system has been very positive so far,' said Andy Haywood of The Co-operative group.

The Co-operative Bank has issued 700,000 contactless debit and credit cards to date. The contactless card's embedded chip enables consumers to purchase goods by simply waving their card over a reader at the point of sale.

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