Supermarket Sainsbury’s has announced that it will be launching contactless payments over its 800-strong convenience store network. It is the last of the ‘big four’ to do so.

Although there has been no timeframe set on the roll-out, it is expected to start before the Christmas trading period.

“Our customers will find an expected item in the bagging areas soon. We are in the process of introducing contactless payments in our stores. It will be in the majority of Sainsbury’s Local stores by Christmas," a Sainsbury’s spokeswoman said.

However, it isn’t clear when larger stores will start to accept contactless payments.