UK credit or debit cardholders can now spend up to £15 without offering a Pin number or a signature after the payment limit was raised for contactless cards.
Credit or debit cardholders in the UK will now have their spending limit increased to £15 without having to offer a PIN or signature. The payment limit for contactless cards was agree by banks and card providers after a request by Visa and Mastercard.
The increase in contactless credit cards brings the UK closer to the spending limit in the eurozone. In the eurozone, contactless cards can be used to fund purchases of up to 25 euros, which is around £23.
It is estimated that by 2011, around one in seven residents in the UK will have a contactless card. The contactless card lets a person pay for products or services by swiping a card over a nearby sensor.
Contactless technology allows cardholders to press their debit card to a sensor in more than 8,000 UK shops to register a payment. The money is automatically deducted from their bank account or added to their credit card bill.
Currently, the contactless technology is available in more than 8000 shops in the UK. Cardholders press their debit card onto a sensor to register a payment and the money will automatically be deducted from their bank account or be added to their credit card bill.
It is thought that the new higher limit will mean that more shops and outlets will begin to install the technology.
The UK has been one of the nations unwilling to embrace the techonology, however, the news that cheques plan to be phased by 2018 could lead to more people adopting the service.
The contactless card is already widely used in East Asia where the chip is placed inside an everyday device like a mobile phone.
Anyone sent a new Barclays Visa debit card will have the contactless technology built into the card as standard. Some four million contactless Barclaycard credit cards have also been issued.
"Contactless technology is undoubtedly the future of payments and we are seeing it grow hugely in popularity," said Brian Cunnington of Barclays.
"The new higher limit gives customers the flexibility of paying for even more transactions quickly, securely and conveniently via a contactless card payment and will lead to more retailers implementing the technology."
