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Contactless card payments limit rises to £20 | Contactless card payments limit rises to £20 |
(40 minutes later) | |
The price limit on purchases made using wave-and-go card technology has risen from £15 to £20. | |
Customers pay for small items by holding their debit or credit card to a reader without entering a Pin code. | |
Fifty national retailers now use the system in their stores, including Greggs, Boots and McDonald's. | |
The limit increase comes shortly before the Post Office starts to add the contactless payment terminals to all of its 11,500 branches. | |
"We are delighted to be delivering cutting-edge technology through the Post Office network," said Lesley Sewell, chief information officer at Post Office Limited. | |
"Contactless will bring huge benefits to our customers by reducing transaction times." | |
Quick transactions | Quick transactions |
The change in the maximum value that can be spent at one time brings the UK into line with the eurozone's 25 euros limit. | |
The increase to £20 will take effect in stores at some stage between Friday 1 June and the end of the month. | |
The contactless technology allows cardholders to press their debit card to a sensor in thousands of UK shops to register a payment. | |
The money is automatically deducted from their bank account or added to their credit card bill. | The money is automatically deducted from their bank account or added to their credit card bill. |
The technology has been more widely adopted in East Asia, where the chip found in a plastic card is placed in an everyday item such as a mobile phone or a watch. | The technology has been more widely adopted in East Asia, where the chip found in a plastic card is placed in an everyday item such as a mobile phone or a watch. |
Melanie Johnson, chair of the UK Cards Association, said: "Low-value transactions have been gradually moving from cash to card. | |
"Contactless cards provide another convenient and fast method for paying for low-cost goods and services. | |
"They attract the same level of protection as traditional plastic cards - meaning that customers will suffer no loss if they are a victim of fraud," she added. | |
Post Office | |
Currently there are about 23 million of the contactless cards in issue, and all the big banks issue them. | |
In the view of the banking industry, the £20 limit will make the cards more appealing to users as it will let them pay for a small basket of goods in a supermarket or convenience store, rather than just for one or two small items. | |
In the UK, the Post Office has announced that it will become the largest adopter of the new technology in Europe. | In the UK, the Post Office has announced that it will become the largest adopter of the new technology in Europe. |
It will install terminals at 200 branches around the London 2012 Olympics sites from 6 June. | |
The remaining branches across its network will be equipped by the end of October, with 30,000 counters offering the method of payment. | |
The Post Office said that Mastercard Paypass and Visa Paywave cards would be accepted for most products and services which can be paid for with a credit or debit card at present. | |
The only exceptions are purchases for more than £20, or those involving notes or cash, such as bureau de change transactions or when making bank withdrawals and deposits. | |
Some shopkeepers have raised concerns that as more people start to use cards, instead of cash, the cost to retailers increases. | Some shopkeepers have raised concerns that as more people start to use cards, instead of cash, the cost to retailers increases. |