Debit cards

Shoppers can buy goods costing up to £30 using contactless credit and debit cards from today, as the single payment limit has increased from £20 per transaction.

The pound's hit it's best rate against the euro for eight years, meaning holidaymakers tripping to Europe find it far cheaper than in recent memory. Currently it's hovering around £1 buys €1.43 - €1.44, a year ago it would've bought you just €1.24.

About two million existing and former Affinion – often branded Sentinel – customers will receive letters from next month detailing how to claim compensation, after the High Court approved a redress scheme being set up.

About two million existing and former Affinion – often branded Sentinel – customers are set to get a refund for mis-sold card protection after a redress scheme was today given the green light.

The European Parliament has today voted to cap the charges paid by retailers to card firms when debit and credit cards are used. But there are fears the savings will be pocketed by retailers rather than being passed on to consumers and that the cap could scale down cashback and reward card deals.

The euro has weakened even further over the past week. It now sits at a paltry £1 buying €1.33 at the spot rate (and £1 buys €1.33 at the best travel money rate too). This would've been unthinkable last year when you'd have done well to get €1.20 and two years ago when €1.15 would've been worth whooping about.

Shoppers will be able to use biometric bank cards to pay for shopping from next year after MasterCard unveiled what it says is the "world's first fingerprint authenticated card".

You'll be able to travel around London Underground using contactless payment cards from September, Transport for London (TfL) has announced today.

We're often told to call our credit or debit card providers before setting off on our travels to ensure our plastic isn't stopped abroad. But whether or not you actually need to depends on your provider.