The £30 limit on contactless card payments is set to rise to £45 in a bid to stop people dawdling in checkout queues and spreading coronavirus.
The contactless card payment limit in shops will increase by £15 as part of measures to combat coronavirus, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) has said.
The BRC said the move will reduce the need for physical contact with devices where people need to input their Pin.
Increasing the limit will also mean that more transactions can be made without handling cash.
The BRC said the new contactless limit will be operational at some stores across the UK from April 1, but may take some time before it can be applied more widely.
For example, it may take longer to roll out at retailers currently operating at peak capacity.
BRC head of payments policy, Andrew Cregan, said: "The last contactless limit increase to £30 took two years to implement but, given the extraordinary circumstances we face today, this new £45 limit will be rolled out from next week.
"Some shops will take longer to make the necessary changes, given the strain they're under. In the meantime, most customers can continue to make contactless payments for higher amounts using their smart phone."
The news comes as the UK's Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab told Brits living abroad to get home "while they still can".
And earlier today, it was confirmed that the death toll across the UK had risen to 335, with 6,650 confirmed cases.
UK victims of the virus have been between the ages of 18 and 102, and have all had underlying health conditions.
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