A whopping 18.3 billion contactless payments were made in the UK back in 2023, a seven per cent increase compared to the year before. Data from UK Finance shows contactless payments represented 38 per cent of all payments made across the nation during this period (this includes both physical cards and digital versions stored onto smart devices like your phone or watch).
While entering your PIN nowadays might seem like a laborious and redundant task, Brits may still be occasionally asked to do so when they attempt to pay with a physical contactless card. Often, this is because a security alert has been flagged by the bank. Lloyds Bank allows its customers to pay up to £100 in one transaction with a simple 'tap' of your card, and gives Brits the freedom to change their contactless limit to anything between £30 and £95.
Like most high-street banks, Lloyds has security triggers to protect customers' money. "The first time you use your contactless card for a transaction, you'll be asked to use chip and PIN or sign for your purchase," the bank states on its website. "Once you've done that, all future transactions can be contactless. You need to hold your card very close to the reader (around two – four centimetres) for it to work. If the price of the transaction is over £100, you will need to use chip and PIN as normal.".
