Contactless is useless for fuel unless you top up with over half a tank remaining. ApplePay / Google Pay work sometimes, but retailers put arbitrary limits on despite payment being authenticated (Pay for my £60 weekly shop in the store but maximum £30 in the petrol station, Sainsburys? I didn't bring my wallet, looks like I'm coming back. Thanks for that.)
Is the UK most advanced? In Australia they can pay for anything up to $100 with tap. Over $100, they can still tap, but then need to enter their PIN into the terminal (i.e. no need to insert the card for PIN entry – a tap is sufficient). We don't have that in the UK.
Similar in Poland. You can always tap and then it asks for PIN or it doesn't. I expect this decision is based on the amount of the purchase and maybe some other factors.
I don't think having a higher limit makes anything more advanced. I'm fine with having a lower limit for cards, and then switching to Apple/Samsung/Google Pay for higher priced transactions.
Most advanced in Europe maybe. I rarely use anything but contactless in the UK (where I live), but often find no option for contactless elsewhere in Europe. I've never had to swipe and sign anywhere in my whole life, though.
