Financial institutions issued more than 450 million contactless cards in 2013, according to figures released today by the Smart Payment Association at an opening-day session at the Cartes America conference and exhibition in Las Vegas.

In its annual review of the smart payment card market, the SPA said in a press release that contactless technologies were present on over one-third (37 percent) of all smart payment cards shipped in 2013.

The Asia-Pacific region experienced the largest growth, as contactless shipments increased 193 percent compared with 2012. Other regions experienced strong growth rates, ranging from 45 percent in the Americas to 64 percent in Western Europe.

Shipments of dual-interface cards, incorporating both chip-and-PIN and contactless technologies, grew 115 percent in 2013, largely driven by growth in Asia and Europe. As a result, dual-interface cards now represent 94 percent of all contactless shipments.

The deployment of contactless payment infrastructures, which includes terminals and POS, is paving the way for mobile payments and accelerating the introduction of NFC to mass markets, the SPA said in its release.

More than 1.5 billion EMV cards were shipped last year, with the highest increase once again recorded in the Asia-Pacific region at 75 percent. EMEA's strong growth of 12 percent was in part driven by SEPA rules which enforce chip and PIN and the growth of EMV in Russia. A substantial 37-percent growth in North America reflects the completion to EMV by Canada and the escalating migration to EMV currently underway in the USA.

The drive to increase card security also continued in 2013 with adoption rates of Dynamic Data Authentication mechanisms escalating over 66 percent to account for more than half of all global card shipments, according to a press release.

The majority of dual-interface cards are now using DDA technology, with significant growth being seen in mature and rapidly maturing markets. Asia-Pacific showed the greatest increase in DDA adoption (up 155 percent) while the Americas demonstrated strong growth at 77 percent. Meanwhile, CISMEA and Eastern Europe combined registered an increase of 31 percent in DDA-enabled cards, according to the press release.

"The data from this report reveals a growing hunger by consumers for the convenience and immediacy of contactless payment, and issuers are responding with innovative payment options, including those with transit features that put them top of wallet," Sylvie Gibert, president of the Smart Payment Association, said in the release. "The acceleration of contactless payments is, in turn, fuelling demand for mobile payments via NFC, which in itself represents a major mass market transition."