Digital wallet transactions grew 17% in March 2020, outpacing the average monthly compound growth rate of 6.7% over the past six months, Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) reports... More
Covid-19
New Zealand raises contactless limit by 150%
New Zealand is to progressively roll out a temporary increase in the country’s contactless transaction limit “over the coming days and weeks” — but customers of two banks will miss out “due to technology constraints” unless they order a new card or make use of mobile payments... More
Switzerland and Liechtenstein double contactless payments limit
The contactless transaction limit in Switzerland and Liechtenstein is to be temporarily increased from 40 francs (US$41.60) to 80 francs (US$83.21) “in order to protect customers”... More
Starling Bank adds connected cards for volunteer shoppers
Customers of Starling Bank are now able to request an additional, specially restricted payment card that can be given to a friend, family member or volunteer shopper “to buy essential items on their behalf”... More
Juniper: Mobility-as-a-Service revenues to exceed $52bn by 2027
The impact of the coronavirus pandemic “will restrict the growth of MaaS platforms in 2020”, a new forecast from Juniper Research predicts, but MaaS initiatives “will rebound quickly in 2021 as cities re-evaluate their transport strategies”... More
Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Mauritius to increase contactless transaction limit
Contactless transaction limits are being increased in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Mauritius, Mastercard has announced... More
Belgium increases contactless transaction limit to €50
Belgium is to increase the contactless transaction limit from €25 ($US27.07) to €50 ($US54.54) from 14 April, “to curb the spread of the coronavirus.”... More
BIS reports on likely impact of Covid-19 on cash, cards and mobile payments
The pandemic may result in increased calls to defend the role of cash, moves towards more quickly introducing central bank digital currencies and a structural increase in the use of mobile, card and online payments, a Bank for International Settlements (BIS) research bulletin analysing the likely impact of Covid-19 says... More
McKinsey: Coronavirus will cost the payments industry $165bn
An analysis of the global payments industry by McKinsey & Company predicts that Covid-19 will result in a loss of revenues of between US$165bn and US$210bn in 2020 — and sets out “ten fundamental changes to the payments ecosystem that will help all of us find a new normal.” More
Visa reports on the impact of Covid-19 on payment volumes
US credit card payment volumes decreased by 7% in March 2020 compared with March 2019, Visa has reported, while cross-border transaction volumes have fallen 19%... More
Qatar triples contactless transaction limit
Banks in Qatar are raising the contactless transaction limit from 100 riyals (US$27.46) to 300 riyals (US$82.39), in a bid to limit the spread of Covid-19... More
EBA recommends Europe-wide contactless transaction limit increase
The European Banking Authority has issued a statement urging the European payments industry to increase contactless transaction limits to €50 (US$54.97)... More
Table: Contactless payment transaction limit increases around the world
Updated 30 January 2023 Countries around the world are increasing the contactless transaction limit in a bid to lower cash usage to combat the spread of Covid-19... More
Mastercard: 29 countries have now agreed to raise their contactless payment limit
Mastercard is now working with 29 countries across Europe and central Asia to implement increases to their contactless payment transaction limit, the payments network says... More
UK raises contactless transaction limit by 50%
The spending limit for contactless card payments in the UK is being increased from £30 (US$35.33) to £45 (US$52.99), UK Finance has announced. The new spending limit will begin to roll out from 1 April 2020. More
Germans switch to contactless payments amid coronavirus concerns
“Coronavirus concerns have pushed consumers across Germany to make the switch to using contactless payments for the first time,” The Local.de reports... More
China promotes consumer spending with government mobile payment vouchers
The Chengyang District of the city of Qingdao has become the first in China to use a new WeChat service to issue government vouchers directly to residents’ mobile phones, in a bid to boost consumer spending as the Chinese economy begins to recover from Covid-19... More
Egypt promotes cashless payments with increased contactless transaction limit, free prepaid cards and mobile wallets
The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) has introduced a series of measures designed to reduce the need for citizens to use cash to make payments, including a doubling of the contactless payment transaction limit and free access to both prepaid card and mobile wallet services... More
LibertyBus stops accepting cash payments for tickets
LibertyBus, the public bus service operator for the island of Jersey, has stopped accepting cash payments for tickets.... More
Metlink bans cash payments for transit tickets
Metlink, the transportation agency for the Greater Wellington region of New Zealand, has ceased accepting cash payments on all buses, trains, ferries and stations “to stay one step ahead of Covid-19 and give our passengers and staff more peace of mind”... More