Contactless limit to rise to £100 from October – CityAM : CityAM

The limit for spending on contactless cards will reportedly rise from £45 to £100 on October 15.

In March, Rishi Sunak confirmed that the payment limit would be raised in order to boost businesses as the UK recovers from the Covid-19 pandemic. UK Finance, an industry body which represents banks, today confirmed that the changes would come into effect in less than two months time.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak commented on the change, saying “as people get back to the high street, millions of payments will made be simpler, providing a welcome boost for retailers and shoppers.”

David Postings, Chief Executive of UK Finance, commented that contactless payments have “proved very popular” with customers. “The increase in the limit to £100 will allow people to pay for higher value transactions like their weekly shop or filling up their car with fuel,” he added.

The contactless limit had already increased from £30 to £45 in April 2020 as concerns about the spread of Covid-19 accelerated the move away from cash payments.

Contactless payments are dominating debit card payments as lockdown eases with two thirds of all sales being made using the non-contact technology in May.

While upping the spending limit will increase the convenience of payments it raises concerns about theft. An Ipsos Mori poll of over 3,000 people found that 82 per cent were worried about unauthorised use of their card at the new £100 limit if it was lost or stolen.

In March, Sunak also confirmed that the contactless threshold for multiple payments would be upped from £130 to £300.

Read more: Budget: The UK’s contactless payment limit lifted to £100