24 October 2021|Cash and E-Cash, Credit/Debit Cards, Financial Security
As we stated in our previous article What Is RFID And How Does It Work? We mentioned the contactless limit to be at £45 but has increased in the past, well a few days ago on the 15th of October 2021 the contactless pay limit has increased to £100 following the decisions made by the UK Government. So what does this mean and what are the risks? Stay tuned as we discuss this here in further details.
Why Re-Increase Contactless Limit This Time?
Contactless payments have steadily increased over time, from £5-10 back in 2007 to the £100 pounds limit it is today, this is because of various reasons, however back then it was mostly due to convenience and time
saving, it cut down large queues in shops, it made the checkout process so much more simple and it was useful for people who suffer from dementia or any memory related illness (in many cases these people would often forget their PIN) and it was very much manageable with such a small cap. But recently it has increased to larger limits. After it was made clear contactless was in heavy usage given over £1 Billion was spent using this method in 2013 alone. After the recent Covid-19 Pandemic it was evident this was in need for an increase, so it started jumping from £30 to £45 and now to the large cap of £100. This increase wasn't as much for convenience but instead for public safety, again given the Novel Coronavirus was spreading through touch as well as being an airborne virus, hand contact with things that where used by the public regularly was causing the transmission rate of the virus to spread a lot more quicker. Therefore it would only make sense to increase the limit to the point where most day to day physical transactions could be done contact free.
The Convenience of Contactless Payments and Building a Cashless Society
Now it is a very common idea between Bankers, Accountants and Conspiracy Theorists alike that all governments around the world wa
nt to push away from physical tender into electronic payment methods, the term ''cash is dying'' is a very common phrase used in modern times, however people see many reasons behind this shift. Bankers will say that it is safer than using physical cash as physical cash is subject to theft quite easily and is not insured the same way as electronic cash or deposited cash, its harder to raise disputes for physical cash and physical cash can easily be faked hence why the Royal Mint is constantly having to change the £5 note, £10 note, £20 note, £50 note, £1 coin because they where so easily faked (we will discuss this topic in depth on a future blog post). Most Accountants would also argue this for the simple fact that cash stored in accounts are traceable and reduces the risks of fraud or tax evasion, having a cashless society can also reduce the risk of money laundering with current regulations in place to watch out for this type of behavior. And finally Conspiracists would also point out that the government can keep a closer eye on you, what your spending your money on and where your getting it from, as although its hard to believe given that every note of physical tender does have a serial number on it, physical cash is very much untraceable (in a sense it is like most crypto currencies but in a very different way), the only true reason why these serial numbers even exist is for the Royal Mint to assure they don't overprint and push through too much cash into circulation, as that would lead to a devaluation of our currency. Although I know many people where also using serial numbers to look out for the infamous ''AK47'' series of £5 notes back in the day and reselling them for over 20 times the price.
The Risks of Contactless Payments
As you can imagine having a large cap on contactless payments isn't just good for your convenience but it could also lead to a lot of detriment if used by a scammer, card thefts will inevitably rise as for every contactless card you hold a thief can see £100 pounds on, making the cards more valuable then the physical cash, we will inevitably see a rise in card thefts as well as Skimming attacks with RFID payment devices.
Why it is so Important to Protect Yourself Now More Than Ever:
Given the inevitable rise of attacks due to this increase in the cap of contactless payments it has lead to a situation where having cards is more convenient for the banks, accountants and government but yet for the individual it is just as dangerous as holding physical cash, apart from the fact it is easier to block and dispute of course. Hence why now is the most important ti
me to be protected, RFID blocking wallets have become a necessary accessory to your finances in these times, one would even go as far as to say without it is like the equivalent on stepping into an active warzone without a bulletproof vest, We here at Scamswise will be releasing our own RFID blocking wallets in a comfortable and fashionable design (as most tend to be these unattractive looking box style wallets we know not many people like), you shouldn't be held back from protecting your cards because the wallets in circulation aren't very nice looking, and so therefore we at Scamswise can provide the best of both worlds with a fashionable design that still holds the same protection and RFID signal blocking technology. We have a few in stock now but will be uploading this to our shop very soon [within a week or two].
Get Your RFID Blocking Wallets Here and Keep Your Cards Safe:
................................................... Link coming soon ....................
This post was written in collaboration with a member of Card payments and Dispute team holding 7 Years experience with various high street banks as well as a former member of the Metropolitan Police Force Theft and Burglary division. Together at Scamswise we encourage our members to work collaboratively and share experiences and ideas, If you have a story, idea or experience relative to the subjects we discuss please do get in touch with us via email at scamswise@mail.com, we always appreciate the input of others to build a better and safer financial future for us all. And also we encourage you to subscribe to us so you can be updated on new posts, we will soon be discussing the risks of physical cash in more depth, as well as contactless history and cryptocurrencies too.
From the Scamswise team
Thank you
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