Today marks the first contactless payments limit increase in Britain, with consumers now able to make contactless transactions worth up to £30 ($45), up from £20 ($30) previously. From now on, payments terminals will be updated to increase the upper limit, and bringing the contactless limit closer to the average card transaction value of £46.92 ($71.89).
Commenting on the announcement, Kevin Jenkins, MD, UK & Ireland at Visa Europe said,
“Today’s threshold increase to £30 gives consumers all the benefits of contactless across a broader range of their daily activities, and we expect to see this momentum continue to build as more people adopt mobile and wearable payment technology.”
With more than £2.5 ($3.83) billion spent in the first six months of the year via contactless payment cards according to the UK Cards Association, it is clear that contactless technology is being embraced across the domestic payments value chain. With issuance and terminal penetration set to improve further, the UK has become a global contactless leader and will be one of the most developed markets for the foreseeable future.
Overview by Tristan Hugo-Webb, Associate Director, Global Payments Advisory Service at Mercator Advisory Group
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