The bank is working with Gemalto, Visa and Mastercard on the upcoming small-scale trial involving 200 customers.

Instead of entering their PINs for transactions over the £30 contactless limit, participants will hold a finger over the in-card reader as they tap their plastic.

David Crawford, head, effortless payments, says: "This is the biggest development in card technology in recent years and we are excited to trial the service."

Howard Berg, UK MD, Gemalto, adds: "Cardholders can pay quickly and easily with just a simple touch, and they no longer need to worry about the limit on contactless payment transactions."