Legal limit for contactless payments to increase, chancellor says ahead of budget announcement

Legal limit for contactless payments to increase, chancellor says ahead of budget announcement

The legal limit for contactless payments will more than double, Chancellor Rishi Sunak will confirm in today's budget.The limit for a single contactless payment will rise from £45 to £100 as part of Mr Sunak's plans to boost businesses as the UK recovers from the COVID crisis.

"As we begin to open the UK economy and people return to the high street, the contactless limit increase will make it easier than ever before for people to pay for their shopping, providing a welcome boost to retail that will protect jobs and drive growth across the capital," the chancellor said.The move comes despite fears of a growing fraud risk from the increased use of contactless payments.On Tuesday, Sky News reported that some of Britain's biggest banks were urging the government and regulators to stagger the hike from the current limit of £45 and to curb the number of times contactless