No limit on tap-and-go fraud fears

WE'RE just two weeks away from a major contactless payment card shake-up. The £100 spending cap is set to be scrapped. From March 19, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) will remove the current per-transaction limit, giving banks and customers the power to set their own maximum, or no cap at all. It means you could soon pay for a £200 supermarket shop or a £300 appliance with a single tap of your card or phone.

- by Katie Elliott

The change is designed to offer greater flexibility, with the financial watchdog citing contactless payments as Brits’ favourite way to pay. Barclays’ research found almost 95% of eligible in-store card transactions were contactless in 2024. However, the new rules come with some obvious risks. After the contactless limit was raised to £100 in 2021, fraud on tap-and-go cards more than doubled, according to industry data. With the ceiling disappearing, the potential losses if a card is lost or stolen are even higher.