Money digest: today’s need-to-know financial news | 20 May 2016

As the digital revolution continues apace, it has emerged that Britons over the age of 60 are the fastest growing group of people taking to contactless card payments.

According to Barclaycard, contactless spending within the older age group has more than doubled in the last year. Its growth has been most noticeable in Manchester, Glasgow, Cardiff and Edinburgh. Separate figures showed that total spending on contactless cards hit £1.5 billion for the first time in March. The Barclaycard data suggests the number of silver surfers using ‘touch and go’ payments increased by 116 per cent over the last 12 months. The Times reports that British shoppers have provided a glimmer of good news for the economy after retail sales rebounded in April. Consumers spent £7 billion a week last month, official figures revealed, while sales volumes rose 1.3 per cent on the month, which was more than double that expected by economists. Alan Clarke, an economist at Scotiabank, said that the panic about a wider consumer slowdown was over.