Contactless card payment limit upped by £15

Move may cut spread of disease with fewer people having to type in pin number on card machines

‘Given the extraordinary circumstances we face, this new £45 limit will be rolled out from next week’

THE contactless card payment limit in shops will increase by £15 to £45 as part of measures to combat coronavirus, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) has announced. It is hoped the move will reduce the spread of the disease, as the BRC said the change would lessen the need for contact with devices – such as card machines – where people are required to input their pin.

More transactions are being conducted via contactless cards instead of cash as shoppers try to limit their chances of infection.

The new contactless limit will become operational across certain stores from April 1, before it is rolled out nationally. Retailers currently operating at peak capacity due to high consumer demand may take longer to change their systems.

The decision to raise the limit follows similar increases in several other European countries, including Germany, over the past week.

Andrew Cregan, head of payments policy at the BRC, said: “The last contactless limit increase to £30 took two years to implement but, given the extraordinary circumstances we face today, this new £45 limit will be rolled out from next week.

“Some shops will take longer to make the necessary changes, given the strain they’re under. In the meantime, most customers can continue to make contactless payments for higher amounts using their smartphone.”

By the end of the decade, coins and notes could account for just one in 10 transactions, according to a government-commissioned study published last month. This trend has accelerated since the outbreak of the coronavirus, with more businesses switching to “cash-free operations” at their sites amid hygiene concerns.

Costa Coffee and Ted Baker are among the high street stores that have said they are going to start only accepting contactless payments.

Digital payment tools, such as Paypal, that allow businesses to accept online payments are now likely to rapidly expand as consumers look to shun physical transactions.

But it is feared that this could particularly impact the elderly, who are more likely to rely on using cash than younger people.

The World Health Organisation has yet to issue specific recommendations on the use of cash in relation to Covid-19. It has suggested, however, that bank notes can carry high levels of germs, posing a risk of infection more generally.

According to research by the London Metropolitan University, £5 and £10 polymer notes already in circulation hold eight types of bacteria, including listeria, between them.