Contactless payment to increase to £100 next week

On Friday 15 October contactless payments will increase to £100 from the current limit of £45. Contactless payments have more than tripled in the space of 18 months, with shoppers having a limit of just £30 in March 2020, which increased to £45 in April 2020.

The roll-out of the new £100 limit will begin on 15 October, however it may take some retailers longer to update all their payment terminals. Commenting on the increase, David Postings, chief executive at UK Finance, said: “Contactless payment has proved very popular with consumers and an increasing number of transactions are being made using contactless technology. 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. The payments industry has worked hard to put in place the infrastructure to enable retailers to update their payments systems so they can start to offer their customers this new higher limit.”

The £100 contactless payment limit comes in just before the Christmas shopping season starts, making it easier for consumers to make in-store purchases quickly. Along with being used on debit cards, contactless payments are also available for those using credit cards, which, if using a 0% purchase credit card, can be a good way to help spread the cost of Christmas.

A 0% purchase credit card provides borrowers an interest-free period in which to repay the balance when making purchases on the card. For example, Barclaycard’s Platinum All-Rounder Visa gives borrowers an interest-free period of 21 months in which to repay the debt on purchases made using the card; this would mean that someone borrowing £1,000 on the card could make monthly repayments of £50 and clear the debt in 20 months, without incurring any interest.

Consumers considering a 0% purchase credit card should, however, keep in mind that once the interest-free period ends interest is then added to the outstanding balance. Borrowers should always be mindful of the money being spent on these credit cards and aim to repay the debt in full before the interest-free period ends.

When determining whether to accept an application for a credit card, lenders will usually look at the applicant’s credit history so consumers looking to apply for a 0% purchase credit card may want to run a credit check first. Consumers can check their credit score for free online here. For those with a poor credit score, it may be worthwhile reading our tips on improving credit scores.