No more £100 limit on contactless card payments in the UK
From Thursday 19 March, UK banks will be able to set contactless payment limits above £100 for the first time, allowing their customers to spend more with a single tap.
New rules announced last year by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) officially come into force on Thursday, allowing banks and payment providers to choose their own limit for contactless payments.
Previously, all firms required customers to confirm contactless payments over £100 by entering their PIN on the payment terminal.
The FCA has now changed these rules to allow banks to set their own limits for when a contactless transaction must prompt the customer for their PIN.
The change followed a public consultation around making contactless payments more convenient for consumers while supporting growth and ensuring fraud protections remain in place.
The FCA said removing this regulatory limit will let banks and payment providers with strong fraud controls better respond to their customers’ demands, and it has encouraged banks to allow customers to set their own contactless payment limit, or even the option to turn off contactless payments altogether.
This aims to give customers more control over how their payments are limited and secured, making their limits work for their lifestyle and spending habits.
While the £100 limit is being removed, existing consumer protections remain in place and in any case of unauthorised fraud, consumers must be reimbursed by their bank for the amount lost.
No major banks in the UK have yet announced their intention to change this limit, and the FCA said in its initial announcement last year that it expects that most banks and payment providers will maintain their existing contactless limits as they review their options.
Any bank that changes its contactless limits will be required to communicate the specific changes clearly to its customers.
