Contactless purchasing 'convenient in UK'

Wednesday, March 3 2010

Consumers could find that they are increasingly using contactless payments as a means of purchasing.

This is according to head of public relations at UK Payments Jemma Smith, who explained that convenience is one of the system's main attractions.

She stated that three-quarters of cash payments account for purchases costing less than £5.

Contactless systems can allow for a faster way of carrying out such transactions with a lesser need to rely on cash.

Ms Smith added: "We are a card centric nation, why wouldn't it work here?"

Retailers benefit as well as consumers because many would rather not handle cash, she claimed.

Her comments follow reports from Barclays yesterday (March 2nd) that the maximum limit for contactless card transactions in the UK had risen to £15 from £10.

It was hoped that this would make it easier for customers to pay for small transactions via cards.

Head of debit cards for the bank Brian Cunnington said it "gives customers the flexibility of paying for even more transactions quickly".