Contactless card payments are set to exceed £100 and potentially become unlimited under new proposals to allow banks and other providers to set limits.
The proposals from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) mean entering a four-digit PIN to make a card payment could become even more of a rarity for shoppers.
If approved, purchases which can cost more than £100 - such as a big supermarket shop, or large family meal in a restaurant - could be made with a tap of a card.
The move would bring cards in line with payments made through digital wallets on smartphones which have no restriction, and reflects the ongoing changes in the way people pay.
When contactless card payments were introduced in 2007, the transaction limit was set at £10. The limit was raised gradually, to £15 in 2010, to £20 in 2012, then to £30 in 2015, before the Covid pandemic prompted a jump to £45 in 2020, then to £100 in October 2021.
