A major change is planned for contactless cards which will allow holders to spend more money per transaction without entering their PIN.
A change, that is due on October 15, will see the limit rise from a £45 spending cap to £100.
With nearly two-thirds of all debit card transactions now made via contactless technology, the change is expected to benefit shoppers.
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However, there has been worry sparked about the exposure to theft with the limit due to increase by over double this month according to Chronicle Live.
Concerned cardholders may be able to set their own limit for contactless payments, presuming their bank allows it.
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The maximum amount was increased from £30 to its current level of £45 at the start of the pandemic last year, and plans to raise it further were announced in the Budget in March.
The Financial Conduct Authority currently tells banks to block contactless payments when cardholders have made more than five contactless transactions in a row or where the total amount spent since the last time the PIN was entered reaches £130.
The total amount spent cap is set to rise to £300 on October 15, in line with the £100 single payment limit.
Payment providers do have the ability to set their own tighter limits, but there are concerns that next week's increase will prove tempting for criminals.
A report for UCL's Jill Dando Institute of Security and Crime Science said credit and debit cards were known as "hot property" for criminals.
"Past experience suggests it could attract new cohorts of teen criminals who are more likely to progress to extended criminal careers, with implications for longer-term crime rates," the report said.
However, the Treasury said there was no significant rise in reported fraud when the limit was raised from £30 to £45 last year. It added that reported fraud equated to 0.02% of the total spent using contactless cards since April 2020.
When contactless card payments were introduced in 2007, the transaction limit was set at £10. The limit was raised to £20 in 2012, then to £30 in 2015.
Account-holders at Bank of Scotland, Halifax, Lloyds and Starling can set their own contactless limits, and others are expected to do the same in future.
While Barclays, Monzo, RBS, Santander and TSB won't allow you to set your own limit, you can turn off the contactless facility on your card completely.
Nationwide and HSBC won't allow you to do either, nor will credit card companies American Express, MBNA or Capital One.
