Shoppers will be able to use contactless card payments for even larger amounts from next week.

The limit on contactless payments was raised to £45 last April due to the pandemic, in a bid to reduce the amount people would have to touch key pads at supermarkets.

However, now the the limit is set to increase for the second time in less than two years from next week as the UK Government sets out to encourage people to spend more in shops now post-lockdown.

UK Finance confirmed shoppers across the UK will be able to pay up to £100 using their contactless cards from October 15.

Although the rise was previously announced by UK Government earlier this year, banks had not yet decided when to implement it.

Shoppers should also be aware from next week that some shops might take longer to introduce the new limit, because they need to update their terminals.

David Postings, chief executive of trade body UK Finance, said: "Contactless payment has proved very popular with consumers and an increasing number of transactions are being made using contactless technology."

"The increase in the limit to £100 will allow people to pay for higher value transactions like their weekly shop or filling up their car with fuel.

"The payments industry has worked hard to put in place the infrastructure to enable retailers to update their payments systems so they can start to offer their customers this new higher limit."

When contactless cards were first introduced in 2007, payments were capped at £10.

This rose to £15 in 2010, £20 in 2012, £30 in 2015 and £45 in April last year in the early days of the pandemic.

But the latest rise caused concern among some that it could be easier for fraudsters to spend people's money.