The move is designed to help homeless sellers of the magazine as cash use in the UK falls dramatically. A study from last year found that if the current trend of declining cash usage in the UK continues, the country could become entirely cashless by 2026.
The Big Issue is using contactless technology via the Zettle by PayPal card reader, which enables sellers to accept contactless payments in-person directly on their Android mobile devices, with no additional hardware or fees.
The magazine found that vendors offering cashless payments will sell up to 35 per cent more magazines using the Zettle card reader than a vendor that is only accepting cash, as nearly 70 per cent of debit card transactions and over half (56 per cent) of credit card transactions in the UK are now contactless.
Vendors will be able to accept contactless payment via physical cards and digital wallets on smartphones and connected watches.
The Big Issue has often been quick to jump on...