Barclays Group PLC is increasing the transaction-size limit for its consumer contactless payment cards to 15 pounds (US$22.50 or 16.60 euros), the company announced this week. The previous limit was 10 pounds.
Barclays decided to raise the limit because of consumer and retailer demand, the issuer notes in a news release. Barclays executives were not immediately available to comment on the policy change.
Barclays introduced the first contactless payment card in the United Kingdom in 2007 through its Barclaycard subsidiary. Since then it has issued more than 2 million Barclays Visa debit and 4 million Barclaycard credit contactless cards, the issuer notes in a news release. Moreover, more than 20,000 payment terminals deployed by such UK merchants as Pret A Manger, Coffee Republic and Krispy Kreme accept contactless payment, the release says.
With a contactless payment, consumers pay for items by holding the card against a special reader without entering a personal identification number. The purchase price is then debited from the checking account or added to the credit card bill, the same way it works for a standard card transaction.
Nick Holland, senior analyst at Aite Group LLC, a Boston-based independent research and advisory firm, tells PaymentsSource Barclays’ decision is “a smart idea because it allows consumers to make larger purchases using speed and convenience.” Holland hopes other issuers, especially in the United States, will follow suite.
Not only does the higher limit enable consumers more flexibility for purchases, it also “will lead to more retailers implementing the technology [for contactless payments], Brian Cunnington, Barclays head of debit cards, states in the release.
