The spending limit on each contactless card has increased to £100, from £45.
The limit was increased to £45 in April 2020, early on in the coronavirus pandemic, due to some shops restricting people’s ability to pay with cash during the pandemic.
The increase marks the fifth time that the limit has been raised, after it was initially set at £10 in 2007.
Despite the latest increase, many retailers’ terminals will need to be updated so the option will not be available everywhere immediately.
READ MORE: Sainsbury’s shoppers outraged after contactless goes down
The news comes as trade union UK Finance revealed between January and July, 60 per cent of all debit and credit card transactions across the UK were contactless.
This accounted for 6.6 billion payments, with a value of £81.4 billion.
UK Finance’s figures also show that, in 2016, just seven per centof all payments, including cash, were made using contactless cards.
By 2018 this had increased to nearly one in five (19 per cent) transactions and by 2020 more than a quarter (27 per cent) of all payments were being made using contactless cards.
Commenting on the increase, the NFRN said: “The decision has been praised as a method to increase footfall amongst businesses and will provide additional convenience for retailers and consumers alike.”
However, it revealed there has been “some speculation regarding the safety of the increase”.
Royal London consumer finance specialist Sarah Pennells said: “Although fraud on contactless cards is relatively low level, it can be distressing to those who experience it.
“You should treat your contactless card the same way as you’d treat cash in your pocket, so be careful when you use it and don’t give it to anyone else.”
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