PAY RISE: UK consumers can spend up to £30 in a contactless transaction from September

The spending limit for contactless transactions is to be increased from £20 (US$30) to £30 (US$46) in September 2015, The UK Cards Association has told NFC World. The move follows the news last week that contactless card usage surged in the UK in 2014 to 319.2m transactions with total spend more than trebling to a record £2.32bn.

UK card issuer Barclaycard has also released its contactless adoption figures for 2014. They show that the number of contactless credit and debit card transactions made by its UK cardholders more than doubled in 2014 with total transactions increasing in volume by 108% and by value by 115%.

Men are currently the keenest adopters of contactless technology, Barclaycard found, accounting for 64% of active contactless customers, compared to 36% for women.

London leads the way in terms of contactless usage, Barclaycard adds, with the capital accounting for 30.1% of all eligible contactless transactions in 2014. Leeds came second with 27.3%, followed by Cambridge with 14.9%, Oxford with 14% and Manchester with 13.6%.

Regionally, Bristol saw the most significant increase in contactless usage last year, at more than 150%, followed by London at 130%.

“Every second counts for today’s busy shopper and tap and go payments are now the norm for an increasing number of consumers,” says Tami Hargreaves, head of contactless at Barclaycard. “Paying contactlessly is not only quicker, but it’s easier, safer and more secure. We expect contactless payments to continue to prosper in 2015 as tap and go becomes a habitual way of paying.”