The FCA to seek guidance on increasing contactless payment limit

Cashless

Publishing an update, the FCA has revealed it is seeking views on amending its rules to allow for a possible increase in the contactless limit to £100.

The limit was raised from £30 to £45 at the commencing of the pandemic, in a bid to enable consumers to halt the spread of coronavirus as much as possible. 

The body stated in its update: “Since the limit for contactless card payments was raised to £45 last April at the start of the pandemic, people are increasingly making use of contactless payments. It’s important that payments regulation keeps pace with consumer and merchant expectations. Recognising changing behaviour in how people pay, as part of a wider consultation, we will shortly be Support for frontline staff.”

Commenting on the FCA possibly increasing contactless limits to £100, Luke Massie, CEO of VibePay, said: “The move from the regulator to potentially increase the contactless limit makes complete sense as we rapidly move towards a cashless society – a trend which has been accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“However, by increasing the limit so significantly, consumers will see a rise in ‘card not present’ fraud, but not to the levels if this move was made during ‘normal’ times.

“Aside from the consumer, we will expect to see the likes of Mastercard, Visa and other major card issuers to benefit the most from this potential move. This comes at a time when Mastercard has recently increased its fees for merchants.”

The UK finance sector has also been lobbying for the increase of contactless payments, with Brexit and no longer having to abide by European Union regulations making this a possibility.