Overview
- From Thursday, the nationwide cap ends, letting banks and payment providers set their own contactless thresholds and, in many cases, offer customers personal limits or the option to switch contactless off.
- HSBC, Santander, Lloyds, Halifax, Bank of Scotland, Barclays and TSB say they do not plan to raise their £100 cap now, though many already let customers lower limits or disable contactless in their apps.
- The FCA requires strong fraud controls and says existing protections remain, including reimbursement for unauthorised transactions and periodic PIN checks on higher-risk activity.
- Rollout will vary by provider and firms must clearly notify customers of any changes, as contactless has become the dominant in‑store method based on 2024 usage data cited by banks.
- Mobile wallets such as Apple Pay and Samsung Pay are unaffected and already support higher-value taps with biometric checks, while consumer groups warn that higher limits could encourage overspending for some users.