Finance industry leaders are reportedly pushing for the contactless payment limit to rise from £45 to £100 now that the UK has left the EU.
According to The Times, UK Finance – a trade association for the UK banking sector – has revealed that the idea of a spending cap increase has been pitched to the Treasury, with finance industry leaders saying it would make things including eating out and shopping in supermarkets less of a coronavirus (COVID-19) risk.
The lobby group is hoping to push the move with card providers, but the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is required to agree to this order for it to take effect.
The current cap was set by the European Commission, but now that Brexit has happened, this could be changed.
Contactless cards were first brought in in 2007, when they had a spending limit of £10, but in April, the limit was raised from £30 to £45 in order to help curb the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) as it means less contact with PIN pads and less time spent interacting with shop staff.
ADVERTISEMENT
UK Finance say that the proportion of contactless payments peaked in September – where the value of contactless transactions in was £8.2 billion in total, up from £7 billion in September 201 – with it now making up 64% of all debit card payments, and since then, banks have also surprisingly not seen any higher levels of fraud either.
The Times said that it believed the response to upping the limit had been positive, suggesting it could be a way to prove that Brexit has meant a move away from EU rules.
ADVERTISEMENT
It would also be less contentious than other things like food or wages.
Eric Leenders – Managing Director of Personal Finance at UK Finance – said: “September saw the proportion of contactless debit card payments hit a record high for the second month in a row, rising to 64% of total transactions in August.
“The value of overall contactless spending was also up by over 18% compared to the same period last year, as consumers made further use of the increased £45 contactless spending limit [and] debit card spending remained a preference as consumers continued to opt for more immediate settlement of payments as a means of managing their finances amid this year’s economic uncertainty.
ADVERTISEMENT
“The total spend of £58.5 million was much the same as in August, but 12.8 per cent higher than in September last year.
“Given the popularity of debit card spending, the annual growth of outstanding credit card balances continued to contract, dropping 14% over the year to September as repayments continued to outstrip new borrowing.”
Trending
Liam Gallagher says he’ll ‘gig in Lidl’ if Co-op Live still isn’t ready – and they sound pretty game for it
Danny Jones
Following the ongoing palaver with Co-op Live, Liam Gallagher has joked that he’d happily play his scheduled gigs in a Lidl if the arena still isn’t ready – at least we think he’s joking…
With Liam Gallagher having been named as one of the first acts booked to play Co-op Live last year, many are now wondering whether the venue will even by June, with the former Oasis frontman set to play four Definitely Maybe 30th-anniversary sets. That being said, he’s come up with a solution if not.
Vintage LG, we’ll give him that.
Obviously a bit of a tongue-in-cheek quip at the venue being sponsored by a supermarket and convenience store chain, it could have been any other competitor that the ever-witty youngest Gallagher brother picked but it somehow made it extra funny that he chose a budget brand like Lidl.
However, with the 51-year-old already having fun with stunts like voicing the tannoys on the Metrolink last year, for instance, we wouldn’t put it past him to take this joke a little further.
Better still, not that we’re getting carried away or anything but Lidl themselves seem pretty keen on the idea too; they even spent the time to build an entire setlist for the fictional show. Fair play.
Can you imagine? Liam Gallagher swapping the occasional tambourine shake for beeps from a barcode scanner as he moves back and forth on the conveyor belt. We know it’s absolute nonsense and we definitely shouldn’t be even remotely considering it… BUT it’s the stuff of dreams and strange things have happened.
A lot of stranger things have happened this week alone. As for the latest with Co-op Live, the Chairman and CEO of key-backers Oak View Group, Tim Leiweke, issued a full statement sharing his “sincere apologies”and insisting that they understand “there is work to be done to rebuild your trust in us.”
With the likes of Olivia Rodrigo, Peter Kay, The Black Keys and more having their gigs pulled by the venue due to numerous issues, including an air conditioning unit falling from the ceiling, fans are understandably fearful that other upcoming events could face delays or general misfortune.
Much like the venue itself, we imagine we’ll be playing catch-up on this whole saga for the foreseeable, but here’s a recap of the story so far:
Featured Images — Lidl GB/Exit Festival (via Flickr)/The Manc Group
Trending
Gavin and Stacey will return with a 2024 Christmas special for its final episode
Danny Jones
After some pretty big rumblings earlier this year, it’s finally been confirmed that Gavin and Stacey will be returning for a Christmas special this year and what will be its last-ever episode.
The beloved British comedy last aired back in 2019 with their previous Christmas special and fans of the show have been crying out for more ever since.
Well, it turns out they’ll be getting just one more go around the block as co-creators James Corden and Ruth Jones revealed that they have now finished writing their third and final Xmas special which will tie a festive bow on the trio of series which started all the way back in 2007.
Sharing a picture of the script on social media, the pair wrote: “Some news… It’s official!!! We have finished writing the last ever episode of Gavin and Stacey. See you on Christmas Day, BBC One. Love Ruth and James”.
However, what was actually going on was a bit of a red herring as she carefully chose to talk down any notions of another series but didn’t categorically dismiss the potential Christmas special.
In fact, she actually went on to add: “All I can say is, if there was something to say on that front, James [Corden] and I would happily announce it, we would.”
And that’s exactly what they’ve done. Well played, Nessa.
As for details surrounding the final chapter in the Gavin and Stacey story, we have very few details at this stage but fans of the iconic show will already be wondering how they might pick up from where certain threads left off.
Production companies Baby Cow, Corden’s Fulwell 73 and Jones’ Tidy Productions are all behind the special and, given the momentous occasion, it will likely have a primetime slot on the TV guide when it finally rolls around this holiday season.
So get your remotes, baubles and bhunas at the ready because Gavin and Stacey is coming back for one last time and it’s sure to be a TV event that people all across the UK will remember for years to come.