Apple has removed the £30 limit on Apple Pay transactions in the UK, with more than half of all contactless payment terminals now able to accept Apple Pay transactions of any value.

Jennifer Bailey, vice president of internet services at Apple Pay, told The Telegraph that the new upgrades applied to hundreds of thousands of terminals, allowing users to shop in many locations without having to take their wallet with them.

The latest move provides Apple Pay with a significant advantage over contactless cards and rival payment systems from Android and Samsung, which all remain capped at the £30 limit. Contactless cards are limited to £30 to prevent fraud, as they do not require shoppers to enter a PIN number.

Apple Pay payments are verified through the iPhone fingerprint scanner or the biometric sensors on its Apple watch.

Retailers now accepting the new higher-value payments include brands such as Waitrose, Sainsbury’s, Pizza Express and Nando’s.

Paul Lewis, senior director of marketing at VoucherCodes.co.uk, said: “For retailers, the opportunities Apple Pay provides are much more beneficial from a business perspective. Mobile is at the very heart of the shopping experience, we know this because consumers use their devices at every single stage of the shopping journey, from finding a product on the store website, locating the stock and even comparing prices.

“Apple Pay completes this digital cycle and shows a step in the right direction to making the overall customer journey as seamless and as simple as possible, and forward-thinking retailers should already be aware of the massive opportunities mobile technology can provide.”

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