When UK residents get up on 19 March, there’ll not be a regulation that limits how a lot they’ll spend in a single transaction on a contactless card, however adjustments will take time.
The Monetary Conduct Authority’s (FCA) rule change on contactless funds means the £100 restrict will not exist, permitting banks to set their very own limits.
Contactless cost performance was first launched in 2007, with a £10 spending restrict on particular person funds. The restrict elevated steadily over time, rising from £30 to £45 in 2020 in the course of the early levels of the pandemic, and reaching £100 in 2021.
A restrict has all the time been in place as a result of, not like different two-factor authenticated contactless funds, reminiscent of Apple Pay, for which a face scan is required, contactless playing cards don’t confirm whether or not the particular person making the cost is the cardboard proprietor.
Buyer flexibility
However in a letter to the prime minister in January 2025, the FCA proposed a change to contactless spending limits. It wrote that it might “take away the £100 contactless restrict, permitting corporations and clients larger flexibility, drawing on US expertise, and levelling the taking part in subject with digital wallets”.
In December 2025, David Geale, govt director of funds and digital finance on the FCA, mentioned: “Contactless is individuals’s favoured strategy to pay. We need to ensure that our guidelines present flexibility for the longer term, and selection for each [finance] corporations and shoppers.”
However one seasoned banking IT skilled, who wished to stay nameless, questioned the logic of eradicating the £100 restrict. “I genuinely can’t perceive why anyone – clients, banks or regulators – would need to change the contactless restrict. It simply doesn’t make sense, and I can’t see a bonus.”
He mentioned the usage of a PIN for bigger sums, which is the case at present, is good. “I believe individuals do usually have to recollect their PIN in the event that they’re utilizing playing cards, so I can’t see who would achieve from this. I can see danger being launched, however I can’t see a change in income, or earnings, or transaction quantity, or values, or anything.”
He mentioned there may be instances the place limitless funds are advantageous, reminiscent of for individuals with disabilities who’re unable to sort a PIN quantity, through which case, banks might take away the restrict for people.
Enterprise discretion
In response to the supply, banks will make a calculation earlier than deciding what limits to set, which might imply no enhance in any respect.
“It’s not a choice that’s made in isolation, as a result of it relies on how good every financial institution is at detecting unauthorised use and who’s liable if a card is misused,” he mentioned.
Contactless card fraud elevated by 19% to 27% final 12 months, and criminals are more and more focusing on misplaced or stolen playing cards, [hence] banks are more likely to nonetheless restrict contactless transactions Chris Skinner, The Finanser
“If the financial institution has very sturdy safety and might block suspicious funds, and it’s not chargeable for suspicious funds, they could eliminate the restrict fully. Or, if they don’t have such good detection methods to forestall misuse, and so they’re additionally liable to repay clients, they could even scale back the restrict to zero.”
He added that banks may let clients select their very own limits.
Chris Skinner, fintech business knowledgeable and CEO at The Finanser, mentioned the largest query everybody in finance is grappling with at present is fraud.
“There are rising tides of fraud in every little thing digital, and contactless is one key space. Whereas complete losses are comparatively low – round 1.3p for each £100 spent – the amount of fraudulent instances is rising alongside elevated utilization. Contactless card fraud elevated by 19% to 27% final 12 months, and criminals are more and more focusing on misplaced or stolen playing cards,” he mentioned. “For this reason banks are more likely to nonetheless restrict contactless transactions.”
In response to the British Retail Consortium (BRC), as of December 2025, 67% of bank card and 76% of debit card transactions had been contactless. It mentioned 19.2 billion contactless debit and bank card funds had been made in 2025, with a complete worth of £311bn, and the typical worth of a contactless cost was slightly below £18.
The BRC suggested members: “Because the FCA famous, most banks are more likely to keep their current contactless limits for the time being. Any adjustments might be communicated to clients.”
It added that adjustments will should be made to card acceptance terminals and the business guidelines that govern them, to permit the processing of contactless funds above £100. “Which means that clients are unlikely to see any speedy change to how they presently make contactless card funds,” mentioned the BRC.
Diane Brocklebank, govt director on the not-for-profit Funds Innovation Discussion board (PIF), mentioned the danger has now shifted. “The £100 cap was a blunt instrument, sure, nevertheless it was one that buyers understood,” she added.
PIF raised considerations with the FCA in October 2025, asking: “What occurs when that readability disappears – significantly for individuals who don’t handle their funds via a banking app, or who wouldn’t essentially detect a fraudulent transaction till actual injury was performed?
“The FCA has been clear that it doesn’t count on cost service suppliers to hurry into elevating limits, and we predict that warning is well-placed. For corporations serving weak clients – individuals with decrease digital confidence, or these with out quick access to card controls – the sensible actuality is that greater limits might merely not be acceptable. The Shopper Obligation means these corporations can’t simply flip a change and transfer on.”
Infrastructure funding
Monica Eaton, CEO of fintech Chargebacks911, mentioned giving suppliers extra flexibility displays a market that has grown rapidly and confidently. “For shoppers and companies, sooner checkout is now the baseline expectation,” she mentioned.
Each time the contactless restrict has been raised, the expected crises or waves of fraud merely by no means materialised. We’ve seen no fallout up to now as a result of the business’s fraud controls are sturdy, and this time might be no totally different. This can be a pure evolution of the know-how Hannah Fitzsimons, Cashflows
However Eaton warned that the funds infrastructure should “hold tempo” with the adjustments. “We’re already seeing how frictionless funds can create extra detailed and generally extra contested disputes. That doesn’t imply the mannequin is flawed. It means the supporting infrastructure has to maintain tempo with how individuals truly pay at present. More and more, AI [artificial intelligence] and machine studying are serving to retailers and issuers spot danger indicators earlier, organise proof extra intelligently and reply to disputes with far larger precision,” she mentioned.
“Because the FCA strikes to offer corporations extra flexibility on contactless limits, sustaining client belief will rely upon clear safeguards and powerful proof trails. Retailers that deal with transaction information as a precedence now might be in a a lot stronger place as scrutiny round contactless continues to construct,” Eaton added.
Hannah Fitzsimons, CEO of fintech Cashflows, which offers cost companies to finance corporations, is in help of the removing of the cost restrict. “The rule change is greater than a technical replace, it’s a decisive step towards a pro-growth framework that trusts suppliers and shoppers to handle their very own monetary lives,” she mentioned.
“The previous 20 years have proven that each time the contactless restrict has been raised, the expected crises or waves of fraud merely by no means materialised,” she added. “We’ve seen no fallout up to now as a result of the business’s fraud controls are sturdy, and this time might be no totally different. This can be a pure evolution of the know-how.”
However she added that retaining confidence relies on “clear safeguards, efficient oversight and transparency round how limits are utilized”.
