The higher limit helps prevent the spread of COVID-19 by allowing more shoppers to pay without touching card terminals or handling cash. It also helps reduce the volume of people in stores by reducing queue times – contactless transactions are, on average, seven seconds faster than Chip and PIN, and 15 seconds faster than cash.
Barclaycard data also reveals that 43% of in-store transactions between GDP 30/EUR 30 and GDP 45/EUR 50 are now made using contactless. This is expected to increase as public awareness of the new limit grows, and as more businesses implement the technology change on their card machines.
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