Contactless card payment limit of £100 to be scrapped from March

The £100 limit on contactless card payments will be scrapped next year and consumers could be allowed to spend as much as they wanted without inputting their pin under changes announced by the UK financial regulator.

- Hilary Osborne

Currently contactless payments by card are limited, while payments using mobile phones are not, but the Financial Conduct Authority said banks and card providers could set their own maximums from 19 March.

As well as the single transaction limit, there is also a cumulative limit of £300 or five “taps”, after which customers are asked to put in their pin. Providers will also be allowed to amend this if they choose.

The FCA said the changes would allow banks to respond to evolving consumer demands, inflation and new technology. However, it said customers should be allowed to set their own limits or turn off the contactless facility if they chose to, and it added that in the short term it expected most financial providers to keep their existing restrictions.

Contactless card payments were introduced in 2007 with a £10 limit on payments. The limit was raised gradually, to £15 in 2010, £20 in 2012, then £30 in 2015. The Covid pandemic prompted a jump to £45 in 2020, then to £100 in October 2021.

Happy tapping? How the rules are changing

What is changing?

The Financial Conduct Authority is allowing banks and card providers to remove the limits on contactless cards - for both single transactions and cumulative spending.

Isn't this making life easier for fraudsters?