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Friday 15th October 2021 onwards marked the UK’s limit on a single contactless card transaction to increase from £45 to more than double at £100. As this threshold gradually gets implemented across the country, consumers can expect to enjoy more flexibility with contactless payments.
Announced by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and HM Treasury, convenience was the primary aim. The increased payment limit was brought for the fifth time to date in response to the continued growth in card transaction usages over the years. A study found that 54% of consumers have been using contactless payment much more frequently in comparison to last year according to Mastercard (2021).
The Shift in Consumer Behaviour and Growth of Contactless
First introduced in 2007 as an alternative payment solution, the spending limit without requiring consumers to enter a pin was at £10 (BBC News, 2021). This alternative to carrying small cash was proven to be popular as the contactless limit was consequently raised to £15, £20, £30, and £45 respectively.
The Covid-19 pandemic only accelerated the shift away from cash to help tackle the spread of coronavirus.
Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, briefed that this latest move would “make it easier than ever to pay safely and securely”.
Where the New Payment Limit will Benefit the Unattended Market
The ability to pay for higher value transactions is important for both consumers and merchants across unattended retail and the self-service sectors. Paying for the weekly grocery shopping or self-service kiosk services such as ticketing, or fuel payments will be quicker and have shorter queuing times due to the ease of use.
Furthermore, from the businesses’ perspective, you can benefit from better operational efficiencies. A convenient payment solution allows for better route planning and time management as merchants don’t need to go and operate the card machines or handle cash as frequently.
End-to-End Contactless Payment and Data Insight Solutions
Contactless payment has become essential as attitudes towards cash change. With our low transaction fees averaging 1.4%, and cash in the bank from 24 hours, this solution is invaluable to businesses looking to improve efficiencies and cashflow.
With Vianet’s end-to-end contactless payment and data insight solution, you can revolutionise your business estate to gather greater transparency of your business as well as combining contactless payment to create convenience and increase sales. Offering our streamlined payment technology together with our telemetry solutions, businesses are able to gather and generate “real-time” insight of their performance in our SmartVend portal.
Vianet’s contactless payment solutions are PCI Level 1 Compliant meaning they are secure payment devices, offering businesses and customers a peace of mind.
The gradual transition from traditional cash payment combined with the demand for contactless and the rise in the payment limit indicates businesses, particularly in the self-service sectors, need to adopt contactless payment to futureproof their estates.
Vianet provides the ultimate solution to drive efficiency, improve cashflow and profits, and give you greater transparency of your business. To find out more about our contactless payment solutions, get in touch with a member of the Vianet team at info@vianetplc.com or visit www.vianetplc.com.
The impact the global pandemic had on our lives is one of the reasons why cash is in decline while contactless payment has a continuous growth in popularity. A survey done by VISA Consulting Analytics in partnership with The Strawhecker Group shows that 26% of their respondents expect a decrease in the use of cash post-pandemic. Our own data shows that since the beginning of the year, contactless payment has seen an up to 18% increase in comparison to cash sales on active machines.
But even before the events from 2020, specialists were anticipating that card and contactless payment will take over cash in the future. People’s needs change, their lifestyles change, and society must adapt to that. Nowadays nine out of the top ten card issuers offer contactless cards, and during this year’s first half VISA added 80 million contactless cards.
Contactless payment has several benefits, both for consumers and businesses, that made it become not just a commodity, but an integral part of our lives. It presents certain advantages both for businesses and consumers. Thus, we put together a list including the most relevant benefits to show you why it became essential in our current society:
For Vending operators and businesses:
1. No more cash handling losses.
For every transaction, the money goes straight to your bank account through a secure system which will eliminate the risk of miscalculation, cash loss or stealing. Because it uses encrypted data, contactless payment is considered to be the safest way to pay, highly minimising the risk of frauds.
2. Saving extra costs and labour time.
Without having cash to count, your business avoids extra expenses and your employees don’t have to do the manual work of reconciling cash amounts. This saves your company money and your employees valuable time.
3. Competitive differentiation.
Card transactions and contactless transactions increased in popularity considerably in the last years, and after the recent events, contactless cards became even more frequently used. A researched done by MasterCard showed that 74% of participants will continue to use contactless payment post pandemic. The previously mentioned survey performed by VISA concluded that 41% of respondents have a contactless card of which 60% use it for at least half of their transactions. Giving your customers the option to pay contactless by having a device implemented will give them another reason to prefer your business over others.
4. Speed and efficiency in transactions.
This is a benefit for both businesses and consumers. From a company’s point of view, faster transactions mean more clients. Nowadays, people are always on the move, and don’t have time to wait in long queues if they can make do without the product. Long lines are a cause of customer loss. Card payments save the customers from counting their money and waiting for change, thus, transactions are taking less time and those interminable queues become a thing of the past. Plus, contactless payment takes on average 15 seconds less than other card transactions which increases even more the number of transactions that can be done during a day.
For your customers:
1. Better security.
A stolen card can be easily cancelled and with the possibility to track your transactions, you’re bank may offer added protection of having the fraudulent transaction refunded.
2. Convenience.
Due to the latest innovations in contactless technology, consumers can now pay just by using their smartphones or even smartwatches through mobile pay apps. 34% of the consumers surveyed by VISA answered that they will use mobile/digital wallet more often in the future. Not only does this make the transactions faster, but it also increases your accounts security because, in order to use either of these devices to pay, a form of identification is required.
3. The possibility to track all your transactions.
Being able to see all the payments you have made over a certain time period allows you to analyse your buying habits and take according actions. Lately, most apps give you a complete report of your transactions which helps you draw more accurate conclusions.
4. It’s a more hygienic way.
According to a MasterCard survey, 82% of respondents worldwide consider contactless as the cleaner way to pay. 
VISA came with a similar result with 60% of participants being more confident in contactless payment to be safer in terms of the spread of COVID-19. This payment method protects both the consumers and the employees from potentially infected surfaces, therefore diminishing the risk of contracting any viruses. This year has shown us how important it is to take into consideration any surface contact such as payment methods in order to protect our health.
5. It facilitates the currency exchange.
Probably the most stressful aspect of travelling to a foreign country on your holiday is the money exchange. Wasting time at the bank in order to change currency, only to realise a few days later, while doing sightseeing, that you ran out of cash and instead of enjoying the scenery, you have to search for a convenient currency exchange location. With card payment, it adds even more convenience to modern day travelling as you can make payments in any currency, at any time, anywhere.
With cash declining and card and contactless payments rising, make sure to take advantage of all the benefits we have presented to you by implementing Vianet’s contactless payment device to fulfil your customers’ needs and bring a new asset to your business.
For more information regarding our contactless payment device, please have a look on our website page or speak to us today.