The limit for contactless spending will rise this October.

Shoppers paying for goods and services will be able to tap their bank card for anything up to the value of £100 in a single transaction. The current limit for a contactless payment is £45.

After several delays UK Finance has confirmed the national roll-out will begin on October 15.

The scale of the upgrade means it will take time for the scheme to be introduced at all retailers so shoppers are advised to ask in store or follow prompts available to them.

David Postings, Chief Executive of UK Finance, said: "Contactless payment has proved very popular with consumers and an increasing number of transactions are being made using contactless technology.

"The increase in the limit to £100 will allow people to pay for higher value transactions like their weekly shop or filling up their car with fuel. The payments industry has worked hard to put in place the infrastructure to enable retailers to update their payments systems so they can start to offer their customers this new higher limit."

The Chancellor Rishi Sunak said: “Increasing the contactless limit will make it easier than ever to pay safely and securely - whether that’s at the local shops, or your favourite pub and restaurant. As people get back to the high street, millions of payments will made be simpler, providing a welcome boost for retailers and shoppers.”

The limit was raised from £30 to £45 back in April 2020 at the start of the coronavirus pandemic to enable people to buy greater amounts without needing to touch buttons and enter their pin on machines.

The Financial Conduct Authority says the contactless threshold for multiple transactions will also increase from £130 to £300 at the same time.

It says the changes will 'improve convenience' for customers and in future may lead to more contactless payments for higher value transactions such as buying fuel or the weekly food shop without the need for people to use chip and pin.

Plans to move to a £100 limit were first raised by Mr Sunak in the budget back in March with shops and businesses expected to begin rolling out the change soon.

He said the change would provide an additional 'boost' for shops as the country tries to recover from the economic effects of the pandemic.

Sheldon Mills, Executive Director, Consumers and Competition at the FCA said: "During the pandemic more people have been using contactless payments. We are changing our rules to help the industry continue to respond to the changing ways in which people prefer to pay.

"Increasing the regulatory limits allows industry to raise the contactless limit in the future to meet the evolving expectations of customers and merchants for fast but secure ways to pay. When making any change, it is important that the industry continues to ensure the right protections are in place to keep payments safe and secure."

Campaigners however, remain concerned about the risks of the UK steadily moving to a cashless society.

The Royal Mint reportedly issued it's lowest amount of coins ever during the pandemic last year with 437million UK coins put into circulation in 2020-21, down from 588million the year before.

The Post Office has launched a Save Our Cash campaign, supported by charities such as Age Concern, saying it had concerns the pandemic was speeding up trends for digital payments, which would alienate and exclude some members of society such as the elderly who continue to rely heavily on notes and coins.

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