News 3 March 2021
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Contactless Payment Limit To Increase To £100

3 March 2021
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The legal limit for contactless payments will increase to £100 in the UK, Chancellor Rishi Sunak will announce in the government’s Bugdet today.

It will be the second rise in the limit since the start of the pandemic after it went up from £30 to £45 last April.

During his speech in the Commons this afternoon, Mr Sunak will highlight the popularity of “pinging” payments during the coronavirus pandemic, as customers and shops have been using cash less as a result of the virus.

“London’s retail sector is famous across the world, with Oxford Street, Covent Garden and Westfield seen as global destinations for shopping,” Mr Sunak told the Evening Standard ahead of his statement today.

“As we begin to open the UK economy and people return to the high street, the contactless limit increase will make it easier than ever before for people to pay for their shopping, providing a welcome boost to retail that will protect jobs and drive growth across the capital.”

Businesses will be able to decide themselves whether or they they wish to accept the higher limit.

Some people have raised concerns over the increase in contactless limits, with

However, there have been worries raised about contactless limits being raised further, with Ian Johnson – Managing Director at payment business Marqeta – saying it will be “easier” for fraudsters to commit crimes.

Mr Johnson said: “The problem with increasing limits on physical contactless cards is if they are stolen or cloned, it will now be even easier for a fraudster to spend large sums of the victim’s money in one go.

“Physical cards provide very little security and a fraudster could continue to use their contactless function until they are cancelled.”