KBC Bank Ireland has introduced new contactless debit and credit cards for consumers.

The cards, which are limited to transactions of €15, enable customers to pay for smaller items in stores in less than a second, simply by holding the card over a reader in the shop.

KBC said around a third of all transactions carried out by customers are valued at less than €15. The bank said contactless transaction made via the new cards will be free of charge.

" Contactless transactions is yet another way that our customers can keep their banking charges to a minimum and I have no doubt, with more and more retailers adopting the technology, it will be a popular feature for our current account customers," said KBC's head of retail banking Dara Deering.