£100 contactless card limit to be lifted

Consumers will be able to make contactless card payments over the current £100 limit, the regulator has confirmed.

Banks and card providers will be allowed to offer customers the chance to set their own personal contactless limits from March 2026, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has said. Consumers will also be given the chance to turn off contactless payments entirely.

It comes after recent polling from Barclays found the total amount spent by the average UK consumer through contactless rose from £3,623 to £3,803 between 2023 and 2024.

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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.”

People will still be protected under the new rules, with firms usually refunding any money lost if a card is stolen and contactless payments are subsequently made with it.

Contactless fraud rates are estimated to stand at 1.3p per £100 spent, according to the trade association for the banking services sector UK Finance’s latest Annual Fraud Report.

Firms offering customers the ability to set their own contactless limits from spring 2026 will need to have good fraud controls in place, the FCA said. This includes systems to detect and stop fraud occurring when customers use contactless.

The new rules will come into effect after the regulator launched a consultation into offering customers more choice over their contactless limits and encouraging growth in the UK economy.

Kate Nicholls, chair of UK Hospitality, the trade body for the hospitality sector, welcomed the move from the FCA.

She said: “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."

The risks of higher contactless limits

Contactless card payments were introduced in 2007, with a limit of just £10. This was raised to £15 in 2010, £20 in 2012, £30 in 2015 and £45 from 2020. It was last raised, to £100, in 2021.

But some academics have raised concerns that higher contactless limits encourage impulsive spending which in turn risks pushing people into debt.

Meanwhile, Laura Suter, director of personal finance at investment platform AJ Bell, warned the new rules from March 2026 could allow card thieves to rack up big spending bills before a card is blocked.

However, Suter said giving customers the choice to raise their contactless limits, rather than it being compulsory, offered a layer of protection.

“Being able to set your own limits, or turn contactless off altogether, gives people more control, whether that’s to protect themselves from fraud or simply to help stick to a budget.”

How to protect yourself from scammers

Despite protections being in place for people using contactless, you should still take every step possible to avoid being scammed, or lessen the blow if your card is stolen.

UK Finance’s Take Five campaign advises setting up notifications or alerts on your banking app so you know when your card has been used. This could stop thieves from spending more money after they’ve taken your card, as you could take action to freeze your card earlier.

If your card is lost or stolen, report it to your bank or building society as soon as possible so they can deactivate it.