How the payments work
CONTACTLESS payments are limited to £30 per transaction, and there is no cap on the number of times the cards can be used each day.
But after a series of consecutive payments a cardholder’s bank might, as a security measure, flash up a request when it is next presented at a till that the four-digit PIN is entered.
This allows the bank to verify that the cardholder is making the payments.
The number of consecutive transactions that can be carried out before a PIN is required is kept secret by banks to avoid tipping off fraudsters. But if a cardholder legitimately uses it to withdraw money from a cash machine, or for a larger transaction, contactless transactions may never be checked.
The information sent in a contactless transaction includes only the card number and expiry date – the same detail that is on the front of a card. Security information, such as the three-digit security code on the back of a card and the four-digit PIN, is not sent.