Slovaks will be able to make contactless payments of up to €50 beginning next week, another move in the fight against the spread of the coronavirus. The old limit of €20 was supposed to protect consumers against their cards being used after being stolen, but the COVID-19 crisis has shifted general security concerns. The new limit is expected to cover 64 percent of the transactions made during daily shopping according to national bank figures. The average transaction paid for with a card in 2019 in Slovakia was €46. For mobile phone payments, the average was €19 while the average Slovak standing at a bank machine was pulling out €165. Online retailers will also be relieved by the new, higher limit for contactless payments, since their delivery staff will come into less physical contact with customers if they don’t have to punch in a PIN code.
