£100 contactless card limit to be lifted
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Millions of people will be able to set their own contactless card payment limits or even have no limit at all, a regulator has confirmed. Banks and card providers will be given the power, from March, to set a maximum - or unlimited - single payment amount without the need to enter a four-digit PIN. But they are also being encouraged by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to allow cardholders to set their own individual limits, or switch off contactless entirely. Some banks already offer this function. The move comes despite the FCA's own survey showing little appetite among consumers and industry respondents for a change from the current £100 limit on contactless cards.
The FCA said it did not expect card providers to make immediate changes to the current limit from March, but they had the flexibility to do so. When contactless card payments were introduced in 2007, the transaction limit was set at £10. The limit was raised gradually, to £15 in 2010, to £20 in 2012, then to £30 in 2015, before the Covid pandemic prompted a jump to £45 in 2020, then to £100 in October 2021.
While contactless cards currently have a £100 payment limit, anyone using their smartphone to pay can spend any amount without the need for a PIN. In-built security features, such as thumbprints and face ID, provide greater protection.
But concerns have been raised about cards becoming more attractive to thieves and fraudsters, when high-value payments can be made with a tap of a card. Various protections are already in place, such as a prompt to enter a PIN after a series of consecutive contactless transactions are made. Consumers would still get their money back if it was stolen by fraudsters, according to David Geale, executive director of payments and digital finance at the FCA. "Contactless is people's favoured way to pay. We want to make sure our rules provide flexibility for the future, and choice for both firms and consumers," he said. Other countries, such as Canada, Australia and New Zealand allow industry to set contactless card limits. Jana Mackintosh, managing director of payments and innovation at UK Finance, which represents banks, said: "Any changes made in the future will be done carefully and ensure strong security and fraud controls remain in place."
Temptation to spend?