Home Money Contactless card payment limit to be removed in major shake-up of the way shoppers pay at checkouts

Contactless card payment limit to be removed in major shake-up of the way shoppers pay at checkouts

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Limit on contactless card payments could be removed under FCA suggestions

Regulators are considering a major change that could affect how you pay for your weekly groceries.

The limit on contactless card payments could be removed, meaning shoppers could spend more money without having to use their PIN.

Contactless payments are currently limited to purchases of up to £100.

However, with food inflation on the rise, regulators are considering scrapping the cap and letting banks and payment providers set their own.

The Financial Conduct Authority has sent a letter to the Government about the measures it is taking to support growth.

In the letter, he suggested he could remove the £100 contactless limit; This in turn would “allow businesses and customers greater flexibility and level the playing field with digital wallets.”

The move would bring the UK in line with the US, where there is no fixed limit. This allows store customers to use contactless technology for the majority of their payments and transactions.

Limit on contactless card payments could be removed under FCA suggestions

In October, a UK Finance study found that contactless payments accounted for 65 percent of all credit card transactions and 77 percent of all debit card transactions.

In total, Britons made 1.6 billion contactless card transactions that month.

Contactless payments were first introduced in 2007 with a limit of £10. The limit gradually increased until 2021, when the £100 limit came into force.

Apple Pay and Google Pay users can now make contactless payments over the £100 limit.

Apple Pay works by adding your payment card to your wallet app and then using facial or fingerprint recognition to confirm the payment.

Google Pay works by users taking a photo of their card before using the app to pay.

Experts fear the change could create a problem for stolen bank cards, as victims could theoretically lose more money before the card is blocked.

A UK Finance spokesperson said: “We continue to speak to the FCA to understand their ideas and plans.

“We understand they are looking at whether the industry can have greater participation and flexibility in the cap in the future.”

The FCA’s suggestion was one of the changes it is considering to help ensure growth.

Other suggestions include relaxing mortgage rules to make it easier for first-time buyers to access property.

They also suggested requiring companies to accept electronic death verification to expedite insurance bereavement claims.

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