You can spend up to £30 using contactless payments from September

Contactless cards have been available in the UK for a number of years now, but it's fair to say that it's not yet become the defacto method of payment. Part of the reason is due to the £20 ceiling placed on such purchases, ruling it out when paying for a weekly supermarket shop or a romantic meal for two, but with widespread support across London's bus and underground routes, more people are starting to get on board. In fact, the UK Cards Association has confirmed that spending without a PIN trebled last year as UK payments reached a record £2.32 billion.

Here are the official stats: retailers processed over 10 contactless payments every second in 2014, with UK consumers using their contactless cards 319 million times. It's actually got to the point where the UK Cards Association has now agreed to raise the maximum limit on transactions. From September 1st, the current £20 limit will be raised to £30, bringing it in line with retailers' average shop and ultimately giving consumers more reasons to relegate their PINs. It certainly suggests that 2015 will be another bumper year for contactless in the UK, but physical cards might not be on the only contributor: Apple Pay is due to land on this side of the Atlantic later this year, letting iPhone users purchase items with no maximum limit in sight.