Major until rule change doable at Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Aldi, Asda ‘in weeks’
Banks and card providers will be able to set their own contactless payment limits under new rules
People using tills at supermarkets and other shops may soon be able to use contactless for more than £100 bills(Image: Getty Images)
A major shake-up is on the horizon that could impact shoppers right across Britain when they reach the checkout. From March, banks and card companies will be handed the power to set a maximum – or even unlimited – single payment limit without requiring punters to enter their four-digit PIN.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is rolling out these alterations next year, enabling banks and payment firms with solid fraud prevention systems to set their own boundaries.
The exact date this comes into force is March 19 2026. At present, if your weekly grocery haul tops £100, you must slot your card into the chip and PIN machine and punch in your digits. With food costs soaring, £100 doesn’t go nearly as far as it used to in supermarkets like Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Aldi, Asda, Morrisons and Waitrose.
Current rules allow contactless transactions up to £100 per purchase when using physical cards. The FCA has suggested it doesn’t expect card firms will instantly change the existing limit from March, although they’ll be free to do so.
Since contactless card payments debuted in 2007, the spending ceiling began at £10. It has climbed steadily, hitting £15 in 2010, £20 in 2012, then £30 in 2015, before the Covid pandemic sparked a jump to £45 in 2020, followed by £100 in October 2021. While contactless cards are currently capped at a £100 payment limit, those using smartphones to pay have no such ceiling and can splash out unlimited amounts without punching in a PIN.
Extra security measures, including thumbprint and face ID recognition, provide added protection. The aim is to help businesses adapt more effectively to changing consumer tastes, inflationary pressures, and emerging tech.
Firms are also being encouraged to let customers set their own spending caps, or switch off contactless functionality altogether, a service many high street banks already offer. The adoption of contactless payments has shot up in recent years, with transaction limits steadily increasing.
However, worries have cropped up that cards may become increasingly attractive targets for crooks and fraudsters, especially when hefty purchases can be made with a simple tap.
Consumer spending figures from Barclays reveal that 94.6% of eligible in-store card transactions were contactless in 2024. The bank’s data shows that 2024 saw 10 times more contactless transactions monthly compared with 2015.
Beyond the £100 cap for individual contactless card payments, there’s also a cumulative threshold of £300 in contactless transactions, or a maximum of five consecutive contactless payments, before “strong customer authentication” must be applied to verify a transaction.
Under the revised regulations, companies will also gain the freedom to reassess the cumulative contactless methodology should they wish to do so.
The FCA believes that offering enhanced flexibility will encourage businesses to bolster their fraud prevention measures, thereby affording consumers stronger safeguards.
Current protections will remain in place, ensuring consumers receive reimbursement in cases of unauthorised fraud, such as when their card goes missing or gets pinched.
The review of the contactless card threshold formed part of roughly 50 initiatives the regulator outlined in correspondence to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer in January, aimed at boosting economic growth.
The proposals underwent consultation until October 15. The regulator has stated previously that, based on industry feedback, it anticipated most businesses would stick with the £100 threshold for now.
David Geale, executive director of payments and digital finance at the FCA, said: “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.”
Kate Nicholls, chairwoman of UKHospitality, expressed: “Making life easier for consumers is a positive for any hospitality and high street business, and I’m pleased the FCA is bringing forward this change.
“Contactless has increasingly become the preferred payment method of choice for many people and lifting the limit can mean quicker and easier experiences for consumers. While many people still prefer to use cash or chip and pin, this change adds much-needed flexibility for providers and consumers.”
Jana Mackintosh, managing director of payments and innovation at UK Finance, remarked: “We welcome the FCA’s move to give banks and payment providers greater flexibility over contactless limits in the future.
“Contactless is a very popular and secure way to pay. While we do not expect to see any immediate change to the £100 contactless limit, any changes made in the future will be done carefully and ensure strong security and fraud controls remain in place.”
Reaffirming her stance, Jana Mackintosh, who represents banks at UK Finance, asserted: “Any changes made in the future will be done carefully and ensure strong security and fraud controls remain in place.”
