“There’s no logical reason why Apple Pay transaction costs should be limited, but in the U.K. users have been stuck with a limit of £20 ($30) since the service first debuted in July,” Luke Dormehl reports for Cult of Mac. “Thanks to the rise of people using both Apple Pay and contactless cards in general, however, that number has now been increased by 50 percent to £30 ($46),” Dormehl reports. “According to the U.K. Cards Association, the new £30 limit means that the average supermarket spend of £25 ($38) will now be covered.” Dormehl reports, “The increased limit covers both all NFC payments, including Apple Pay and contactless cards.” Read more in the full article here. “The increase also comes after technology giant Apple allowed users of its latest devices to make contactless payments,” BBC News reports. “Kevin Jenkins, managing director UK and Ireland at Visa Europe, said contactless payments were becoming the ‘new normal,'” The Beeb reports. ‘We’ve seen unprecedented growth in this area, with the number of Visa contactless transactions more than trebling in the past year in the UK,’ he added.” The Beeb reports, “The increase was first announced in February.” Read more in the full article here. MacDailyNews Take: Apple Pay was exceedingly well-timed in both the U.S. and the U.K. to piggyback on such mandated changes (in the U.S. it’s about the responsibility for fraud changing from card issuers to retailers in October causing the spread of NFC terminals, chipped cards, and secure Apple Pay contactless payments). Now, who else wishes their average supermarket spend would be $38?
The limit of payment size on Apple Pay and other contactless payments has been raised to £30 from £20 pounds in the UK. Photograph: