February 5, 2015 - More than 1.5 billion smart payment cards were shipped in 2014 as the rise of contactless and America's migration to EMV technology drove growth.

Some four out of 10 cards shipped by Smart Payment Association (SPA) members last year featured tap and go technology, representing a 35% increase on 2013, with most of the growth coming in Asia and Europe.

Meanwhile, less than 10% of cards shipped in the US were contactless, but this is set to change as the only major market not to have previously adopted EMV-standard cards finally makes the switch.

Last year America accounted for 185 million card and module shipments, up from just 30 million in 2013 as the industry took action to step up security in the wake of a number of huge data breaches at retailers like Target and Home Depot.

Sylvie Gibert, president, SPA, says: "Crucially, the continued and growing adoption of EMV-standard technology in the United States not only adds a greater security dimension, but offers contactless possibilities - both on the card and through embedded secure elements within NFC-enabled mobile devices."

The data collated by the SPA - whose seven members represent around 85% of the total available market - also highlights the primacy of Dynamic Data Authentication technology, which featured in 70% of cards shipped in 2014, up from 66% in 2013.