• e-mail

Shoppers can now spend £100 with a tap of their debit or credit card as the contactless limit more than doubles today.

But many major banks will allow customers to set their own limit or switch off contactless technology altogether amid fears the move will spark a rise in fraud and reckless spending.

The contactless limit, which allows customers to make purchases without entering their PIN, was raised from £30 to £45 at the start of the pandemic to help prevent physical contact.

At the start of the pandemic, the contactless limit was raised from £30 to £45 to help prevent physical contact - but this figure has more than doubled to allow shoppers to spend up to £100 with no pin required

Experts hope the latest increase will give struggling retailers a further boost by making more expensive purchases – such as a weekly grocery shop or a tank of fuel – even easier.

However, critics have previously warned that increasing the cap will be a ‘thief’s dream’ and allow crooks to blitz through customers’ bank accounts before they even notice their card has been stolen.

Under the new rules, shoppers will not be able to make more than £300 worth of contactless transactions in a row without entering their PIN.

However, many major firms – including Nationwide and NatWest – have said cardholders will be allowed to switch off the contactless function in an effort to ease concerns.

Banks are still offering cardholders the ability to set their own contactless limits in an effort to ease concerns. Lloyds Banking Group will let their customers request anything between £30 and £95, while Barclays cardholders can specify how much they want to spend in any single transaction

Lloyds Banking Group has said customers can request a limit between £30 and £95 while Barclays cardholders can specify how much they want to spend in any single transaction.

Santander is also working on a way for cardholders to request lower limits.

Gareth Shaw, of consumer group Which?, said: ‘While paying with contactless offers great flexibility and convenience for many people, some may be wary about the significant increase. So it is encouraging to see some banks allowing customers to set their own contactless limits.’

David Postings, of banking trade body UK Finance, said contactless payments have become ‘increasingly popular’ and the new limit is the result of ‘hard work’ in the payments industry.