# Contactless payment limit rises to £100

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2021/10/15/contactless-payment-limit-rises-to-100/
- Published: 2021-10-15T11:56:19+01:00
- Author: Melanie May

**As of today, the limit for contactless payments by credit and debit card in the
UK has risen to £100.**

For the first time too, some contactless payments will also have the additional 
protection of Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act, which covers single items worth
£100 to £30,000 purchased using a credit card.

The new limit gives the UK the seventh highest limit in the world and puts it top
in Europe. The country with the highest limit is Canada, at $250 CAD (£147), while
Iran has the lowest recorded contactless limit at 200,000 IRR (£3), followed by 
Malawi at 50,000 MWK (£5). In Europe, the Czech Republic has the lowest limit at
£17.

## Advertisement

 [⌊Posthub advert. You create the campaign. We'll handle the postal journey. Get started at post-hub.co.uk.⌉](https://fundraising.co.uk/ads/posthub-20261007-300x250/)

The figures come from money.co.uk’s [Cashless Countries report](https://www.money.co.uk/credit-cards/cashless-countries).

The limit last rose at the start of the pandemic, rising from £30 to £45 in April
2020. Commenting on the pandemic’s impact on money use, James Andrews, senior personal
finance expert at [money.co.uk](https://www.money.co.uk/credit-cards.htm), said:

> “The global shift away from paper money towards electronic payments began before
> the coronavirus pandemic, but has massively accelerated since restrictions aimed
> at limiting the spread of the virus came into effect.
>  
> “Paying with plastic or an e-wallet also has several advantages. Cashless payments
> allow for quick and easy transactions and the creation of digital paper trails
> could help reduce tax fraud and money laundering.
>  
> “With day-to-day spending, the ease of tapping our cards or paying with a phone
> or watch can’t be denied, but the increased limit also means you can overspend
> quickly if you’re not careful.
>  
> “For people worried about the risks, banks such as Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of
> Scotland let customers set their own contactless limits between £30 and £90, and
> others allow shoppers to ask for cards with no contactless feature at all.
>  
> “It’s also important to remember that single purchases of £100 will now be protected
> under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act, meaning contactless just got a little
> safer for people using a credit card.”

However, [UK Finance](https://www.ukfinance.org.uk/) has said that given the number
of terminals that need to be updated, the £100 limit may not be available across
all retailers immediately. 

Its figures show that from January to July of this year 60% of all debit and credit
card transactions in the UK were made using contactless. This accounted for 6.6 
billion payments, a value of £81.4 billion.

The decision to raise the contactless limit from £45 to £100 was made by HM Treasury
and the Financial Conduct Authority following a public consultation and discussion
with the retail and banking sectors.

David Postings, Chief Executive of UK Finance, said:

> “The new £100 limit offers customers greater choice about how they pay for things
> like their weekly shop or a tank of fuel. Contactless payments have become increasingly
> popular, and the payments industry has worked hard to ensure retailers are able
> to offer customers the new higher limit.”