The £100 cap on contactless payments may be scrapped in a major shakeup of how people shop. Contactless payments are currently limited by regulator the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). But as the cost of living sends the price of every items ever higher, it is considering scrapping it to support growth.
![[Young woman checking in at subway station with smartphone. Lifestyle and technology. Faster payment.]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_237172613-8494.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
If approved, caps would be set by banks and payment providers themselves. This already happens with Apple Pay and Google Pay, which has no limit in the UK although some retailers set their own. The FCA recently sent a letter to the Government on the steps it is taking to support growth.
![[TARLETON, UNITED KINGDOM - JULY 22: A contactless chip and pin terminal at the checkout at the new Tarleton Aldi store on July 22, 2022 in Tarleton, United Kingdom. Aldi is the UK???s fifth largest supermarket chain and has 950 stores. The new Aldi store is the first in the Preston area. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_237173328-169b.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
It suggested that one step could be to remove the contactless limit. This would ‘allow firms and customers greater flexibility and level the playing field with digital wallets’, it said. The move would bring the UK in line with the US, where there is no fixed limit.
This allows customers in shops to use contactless for the majority of their payments and transactions. In October, a study by UK Finance found contactless payments accounted for 65% of all credit card and 77% of all debit card transactions. Overall Britons made 1.6billion contactless card transactions in that month.
Contactless payments were first introduced in 2007 with a cap of £10. The limit gradually increased until 2021 when the £100 limit came in. A spokesman for UK Finance said: ‘We are continuing to speak to the FCA to understand their thinking and plans.
