The decision to raise the contactless limit to £100 from 15 October 2021 has been made by the Treasury and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). It follows on from the increase from £30 to £45 in April 2020.

How do I know if the retailer has the new limit?

From 15 October 2021, the software on card payment machines will be updated to accept the new £100 limit. However, it will take some time for the new limit to be introduced across all UK retailers.

To check if a retailer has updated to the new limit, you should ask in store and follow the prompts on the card payment machine.

What if I want to pay for purchases over £100?

If you want to spend more than £100 in a single transaction, you can pay by entering your PIN. Alternatively, you can use Google Pay, which doesn’t have a maximum transaction limit as it requires your fingerprint or facial recognition for authentication.