Latvians open to higher limit on contactless payments 
Around 68% of Latvians want to to be able to make contactless payments for amounts greater than €10 ($12), with 17% suggesting they would be happy with a limit of €50, according to a survey by Swedbank, the country's largest bank. In contrast, only 14% said they would not use contactless payments for transactions of more than €10. Swedbank said around 150,000 customers use contactless payment on a daily basis, and around 300,000 payments are made using the system every month.
Most people in Latvia would be willing to make contactless payments for amounts larger than the current limit of EUR 10, reports LETA, according to a poll carried out by Swedbank.

As many as 68% of respondents stated their willingness to make contactless payments for amounts larger than EUR 10, including 34%, for whom the acceptable limit would by EUR 20, 13%, who suggested raising limit to EUR 30, 4%, who would go for a EUR 40 limit, and 17%, who would accept a EUR 50 limit. At the same time, 14% said they would not use a contactless bank card for purchases in excess of EUR 10.

"There was certain caution when we started offering contactless payments a year ago but today contactless payments have become a routine, just as e-tickets in the public transport or smart access cards in offices of large companies," says Swedbank board member Renars Rusis.

Since summer 2016 when Swedbank started issuing contactless bank cards in Latvia, 150,000 customers make contactless payments on a daily basis. Around 300,000 contactless payments are made every month.

The poll was conducted in cooperation with Snapshots pollster among 700 respondents aged 15-74 years across Latvia.





Swedbank is the largest bank in Latvia in terms of assets.