Contactless payment limit is £100

In April 2020 the contactless payment limit was raised from £30 to £45. To help businesses recover following the pandemic, the limit has now been raised again, this time to £100. Although the change is already effective, banks and firms will need to make the necessary changes to their systems and contactless payment terminal software. This will take time.  Lauren Herbert explains.

Consecutive payments. The number of consecutive transactions that can occur before consumers are required to provide their PIN remains at five, but the cumulative transaction limit, i.e., how much can be spent across those five payments, has increased to £300.

The Financial Conduct Authority, which oversees contactless payments, has confirmed that during the pandemic and recovery period it is “very unlikely to take enforcement action where a firm fails to require Chip and PIN when a customer exceeds the cumulative transaction value threshold” . However, its enforcement approach could well change in the future.

SUMMARY
The transaction limit on contactless payments has now been increased from £45 to £100. Payment terminals and software will need to be updated to implement this change. Contact your payment merchant for further information.