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FCA to Scrap £100 Contactless Cap on March 19, Letting Banks Set Their Own Limits

Most banks plan to keep the £100 threshold initially to prioritise security.

Overview

  • The rule removes the statutory per‑transaction ceiling and hands decisions on contactless limits to individual firms.
  • Existing protections remain in place, including refunds for unauthorised fraud such as on lost or stolen cards.
  • UK Finance and the FCA say they do not expect widespread immediate increases to contactless limits.
  • Defaqto’s February review found only 13 of 31 providers let customers set a personal contactless limit, while 21 allow users to freeze contactless.
  • Banks are being urged to offer customer controls, and users are advised to enable alerts, review spending tools, and set personal limits where available.