Amex increases contactless transaction limits in 26 more countries

American Express has added 26 Caribbean nations to the list of countries where it’s raised the ceiling on contactless transactions that may be conducted without PINs, to reduce consumers’ exposure to touching PIN pads.

The move marks 60 countries where Amex has boosted contactless transaction limits since the coronavirus pandemic began, according to a Tuesday announcement.

Amex said it has increased the PIN-less contactless limit from $25 to $100 across Caribbean nations including Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, Bolivia, Cayman Island, Grenada, St. Martin, Haiti, Jamaica, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago.

Since merchants began encouraging consumers to adopt contactless payments at the start of the pandemic to reduce exposure to the virus, Amex has seen rising consumer interest in paying at stores with NFC-enabled cards. Compared to before the outbreak, 16% of consumers say they are less likely to use cash for in-store shopping and 15% said they are less likely to insert or swipe a card, according to a survey Amex said it conducted online among 1,000 consumers April 6-8.

“We’re now seeing an acceleration of contactless interest and adoption because of a new focus on cleaner payments,” Bryan Penny, Amex’s vice president of network policy, said in the announcement.