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The UK’s contactless payment limits are to be increased to £30 this September, the UK Cards Association has announced.
Marking a 50 per cent rise in payment limits, the maximum charge per individual transaction is increasing from the current £20 cap.
When contactless technologies were first introduced in 2007, payments were limited to just £10.
While smartphone-based NFC payments remain in their infancy, contactless cards have risen to prominence in the past 12 months.
Contactless cards were used for 319 million individual transactions in 2014, totaling a value of £2.32 billion, up from £653 million worth of payments in 2013.
One major driving factor in contactless adoption has been the use of technology on leading transport hubs such as the London Underground.
Related: What is NFC?
"Contactless has now firmly stepped into the mainstream," Richard Koch, head of policy at the UK Cards Association, said.
"With usage soaring every month last year, we've seen people flocking to contactless payments as they switch away from cash."
Somewhat unsurprisingly, London was the most popular location for contactless payments, with 30 per cent of all sub £20 transactions made in the capital using the technology.
