Contactless: Changes from October

A new operational limit for contactless cards of £100 will be implemented by UK banks from 15th October this year, although it is not clear at this stage how widely this will be adopted by customer-facing businesses in the UK.

Roll-out of the new limit, which is more than double the current £45 contactless cap, could be bumpier and less uniform than previous contactless limit increases due to  unresolved concerns among retailers resulting losses and putting staff at risk (contactless walk-offs) as well as a lack of consumer demand. Whereas previous changes to the contactless limit have taken place with widespread industry support, the increase in October 2021 is being driven by Government pressure to break away from an EU limit for contactless transactions.

Following our letter to the Economic Secretary, HM Treasury have confirmed (log-in to view) that are backing the unilateral bank implementation of a £100 operational contactless limit for payment cards from October 15th 2021. Customers will continue to be able to make contactless payments for higher amounts using their smart phone or similarly enabled wearable device, as is possible today.

If, as a merchant, you own your payments terminals than adoption of the new limit will be at your own discretion, however merchants with acquirer-owned terminals are unlikely to have a choice with terminals accepting contactless transactions up to £100 from October 15th onwards. Speak to your card-acquirer for further details.

If your business operates self-service check-outs then you should contact to your supplier as soon as possible about the measures available to you to mitigate against contactless walk-off losses. The BRC will continue to seek a commitment from the payments industry to tackle contactless walk-offs and a timeline to resolve flaws in the current contactless customer journey.