In a significant change to how you pay at the register, the contactless limit for card payments may soon be lifted.
The financial regulator confirmed it could “remove the £100 contactless limit” to allow customers “greater flexibility” when making payments. The contactless card payment limit has been extended several times over the years. It was raised to £20 in 2012, then to £30 in 2015, before going up to £100 in October 2021.
There is usually no limit to the number of contactless transactions you can make in a day; however, you may be requested to enter your PIN if you make a lot of purchases.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) confirmed it would be looking into contactless payments after the Government asked what steps the regulator could take to help support economic growth.
The FCA also confirmed it could soon ease mortgage rules to allow more first-time buyers to get on the property ladder. Under existing rules, lenders are limited in how many large mortgages they can approve. There is a cap that means no more than 15 per cent of a lender’s mortgage book can compromise loans for properties costing more than 4.5 times the buyer’s annual salary.
But this could soon be adjusted to allow people to borrow larger sums. This could be good for people on lower wages, provided they can afford their repayments.
Another change reportedly being considered is to affordability rules that test whether borrowers can still keep up with repayments if interest rates suddenly increase.
Rental payments may also soon be included as part of your borrowing, rather than focusing just on your income, reports The Times. Rightmove mortgage expert Matt Smith said: “It is really encouraging that the market regulators are now considering what a review of mortgage affordability could look like.
“Regulatory change is what we’ve been calling for, as that is what is needed to truly impact home-mover affordability, particularly for first-time buyers. We’ve seen some innovative products and schemes announced by lenders to try and do their bit to support home-buyers, but they need support from both the government and regulators to really drive more options for people.”
However, Richard Donnell, executive director of research at Zoopla, warned: “The big question is whether current rules go too far, but there is a risk for consumers and the government in how far this might go. Finding the balance is not easy and is compounded by the huge north-south divide in affordability.”
There are not many places now that take cash, unless it’s the smaller shops like hairdressers, barbershops and nail places. A lot of small cafes will not take cash either, but in larger stores, they won’t take anything but card transactions. At one time, cash was king, but now people are having to leave their items because the card machine was down, and I’ve seen people walk away sheepishly, looking rather mortified.
Is this a good idea? No, of course not, because crooks will love it when they’ve cloned or stolen your bank card with no spend limit on it. Thieves will be rubbing their hands together now.
THE MONTHLY MOSQUITO 