Banks can ditch £100 contactless payment limit from March 2026

Banks can introduce their own contactless payment limits for customers from March under new plans from financial watchdog the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

The FCA will allow firms with 'strong fraud controls' to decide if and when they want to raise the contactless payment limit beyond £100 from 19 March 2026.

Shoppers can currently make payments of up to £100 per transaction when using physical contactless cards. This was upped from £45 five years ago. 

The regulator said it wants to give card providers the flexibility to decide the right limit for them and their customers.

However, customers will fear that if a card is stolen, the criminal can go on a far bigger spending rampage with a no-capped limit. 

But the FCA says the only banks granted permission will be those with strong fraud controls when processing contactless transactions. 

The FCA believes greater flexibility with the contactless limit will incentivise firms to strengthen their fraud prevention.

Banks that change the contactless limit will need to communicate the changes to their customers under the Consumer Duty rules, the regulator said.

Some banks already allow customers the ability to set their own contactless limits or turn off contactless functionality on their card altogether. 

The FCA is encouraging payment firms to continue to allow their customers to do this.

Lloyds, NatWest, Barclays and Santander allow customers to set both their own contactless limit up to £100 and also opt out of 'tap and go' payments. 

If you are with a bank which allows you to set or scrap your contactless limit, you can do this in your mobile banking app. 

Based on industry feedback, the FCA said most banks and payment service providers are likely to maintain their existing contactless limits for the foreseeable future, even after the changes come in.

Santander says it has no plans to implement its own single transaction contactless limit for card transactions. 

It supports the current position in the UK of a common single transaction contactless limit of £100 and at this time do not see a need to change this approach.

Lloyds regularly reviews its function which allows customers to set their own limit in £5 increments up to £100 to see how customers are making use of it, but does not have an update on changing the limit currently.

There have been concerns that introducing unlimited contactless payments could lead to a wave of fraud as fraudsters could potentially spend larger amounts of money with stolen cards. 

It is up to firms to implement strong controls to detect and prevent fraud from taking place. 

The FCA may monitor whether banks have strong fraud controls by supervising the firms and through regular reporting.

The FCA said contactless card payments come with the same protection as any other card payment, meaning banks and payment firms must reimburse unauthorised fraud cases, such as when somebody's card has been lost or stolen. 

Often, a card has a contactless payment limit before a PIN is required - usually five transactions, or a total amount of £300.

A UK Finance spokesman says: 'There are things like the cumulative limit that sit in the background – this means you have to enter your PIN once you hit a certain amount of spend. That is a protection measure in place.'

David Geale, executive director of payments and digital finance at the FCA, says: '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.'

SAVE MONEY, MAKE MONEY

4.52% cash Isa

4.52% cash Isa

Trading 212: 0.67% fixed 12-month bonus
Learn More
Learn More

£100 cashback

£100 cashback

Transfer or fund at least £10,000 with Prosper
Learn More
Learn More

4.65% cash Isa

4.65% cash Isa

Includes 12-month boost for new customers
Learn More
Learn More

£200 cashback

£200 cashback

10% cashback on investments, up to £200
Learn More
Learn More

£20 gift card

£20 gift card

Hold £1,000 after three months in Plum's cash Isa
Learn More
Learn More

Affiliate links: If you take out a product This is Money may earn a commission. These deals are chosen by our editorial team, as we think they are worth highlighting. This does not affect our editorial independence. Terms and conditions apply on all offers.