UK FCA Ends £100 Contactless Payment Limit

Starting Thursday, March 19, the Financial Conduct Authority in the United Kingdom will eliminate the longstanding £100 limit on contactless card payments, granting banks and consumers greater control over transaction thresholds nationwide.

Under the current system, contactless debit and credit card transactions are capped at £100 per payment, requiring users to enter their PIN for amounts above that threshold. For multiple smaller transactions, a cumulative daily limit of £300 often triggers a PIN prompt. The new rules, announced last year following public consultation, remove these caps entirely. Banks and payment providers with robust fraud prevention measures can now establish their own single-transaction limits, while customers may set personalized thresholds, increase them, or disable contactless functionality altogether. Changes will not occur uniformly, as individual institutions decide whether and when to implement adjustments, with a requirement to notify affected customers clearly.

The shift aims to adapt to evolving consumer preferences, technological advancements, and rising inflation, which have made contactless payments the preferred method for most transactions....