The contactless card payment limit in shops will rise from £30 to £45 next week as part of measures to combat coronavirus.
Contactless payments were first introduced in 2007 and at the time shoppers were allowed to spend £10 in one transaction.
In September 2015 the limit increased to £30 and from next week this will rise to £45.
Trade association UK Finance, which represents the finance and payments industry, said the decision to raise the limit was made following talks with the retail sector.
It follows similar increases recently made elsewhere in Europe.
UK Finance said the changes were already being mulled over, but the process had been accelerated as part of the industry's response to coronavirus.
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) said the move will reduce the need for physical contact with devices where people need to input their Pin.
Increasing the limit from £30 to £45 will also mean that more transactions can be made without handling cash.
The BRC said the new contactless limit will be operational at some stores across the UK from April 1, but may take some time before it can be applied more widely - it may take longer to roll out at retailers currently operating at peak capacity.
BRC head of payments policy, Andrew Cregan, said: "The last contactless limit increase to £30 took two years to implement but, given the extraordinary circumstances we face today, this new £45 limit will be rolled out from next week.
"Some shops will take longer to make the necessary changes, given the strain they're under. In the meantime, most customers can continue to make contactless payments for higher amounts using their smartphone."
Some £80.5 billion was spent on contactless payments in 2019, UK Finance figures show, up by 16 per cent on the previous year.
Allowing people to "tap and go" on higher value card transactions may also spark concerns about fraud. But, according to UK Finance, contactless fraud equates to just 2.5p in every £100 spent using the technology.
UK Finance said contactless fraud on payment cards and devices represents just 3.3 per cent of overall card fraud losses.
