New £45 contactless limit rolled out to combat coronavirus

Shoppers will now be able to make contactless card payments with a new higher limit of up to £45 per transaction.

The contactless card payment limit in shops is increasing from £30, as part of measures to combat coronavirus.

The new limit is three times the amount it was a decade ago, back in 2010.

“Tap and go” contactless cards initially had a limit of £10 in 2007, which was increased to £15 in 2010, £20 in 2012 and to £30 in 2015.

Trade association UK Finance, which represents the finance and payments industry, said the decision to raise the limit was made following talks with the retail sector.

It follows similar increases recently made elsewhere in Europe.

An increased limit was already being considered but the process has been accelerated as part of the industry’s response to Covid-19.

It will mean more payments can be made without the need to handle cash and it will also reduce the number of occasions when people need to input their pin on a machine when making payments.

However, people will not be able to make contactless card payments of up to £45 in all the shops that remain open from Wednesday.

The software on card payment machines will be updated to accept the new £45 limit but UK Finance said with hundreds of thousands of terminals in the UK, the updating process will happen gradually.

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has said while the new contactless limit will be operational at some stores across the UK from April 1, it may be some time before it can be applied more widely.

BRC head of payments policy Andrew Cregan said: “Some shops will take longer to make the necessary changes, given the strain they’re under.”