Contactless Payments to Increase to £100

The trade association UK Finance has announced that the contactless card payment limit will increase from £45 to £100 from 15 October 2021, following the decision made by HM Treasury and the Financial Conduct Authority. The limit was previously increased successfully from £30 to £45 back in April 2020.

It will take some time for retailers to update their payment terminals across the UK to accept the new limit.

Commenting on the news, UK Finance chief executive David Postings said: “Contactless payment has proved very popular with consumers and an increasing number of transactions are being made using contactless technology.

“The increase in the limit to £100 will allow people to pay for higher value transactions like their weekly shop or filling up their car with fuel. The payments industry has worked hard to put in place the infrastructure to enable retailers to update their payments systems so they can start to offer their customers this new higher limit."

UK chancellor Rishi Sunak added: “Increasing the contactless limit will make it easier than ever to pay safely and securely - whether that’s at the local shops, or your favourite pub and restaurant. As people get back to the high street, millions of payments will be made simpler, providing a welcome boost for retailers and shoppers."