Banks and payment firms can now scrap the £100 contactless limit – but most aren't yet

Following a consultation on how to make paying more convenient for consumers, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has said that banks and payment providers, "provided they have strong fraud controls", can set their own limit for contactless payments as of Thursday 19 March.

Firms are also being encouraged to let customers set their own limit, or turn contactless off altogether, though the vast majority of high street banks already offer these services. Visit our Contactless guide for more info on how this type of payment works.

Most banks and card firms are sticking with the £100 limit for now

We contacted 20 major UK banks and card firms to ask about their plans. Of the 17 that have responded so far, none are making any immediate changes, though some told us they are reviewing their limits. See the full list of firms below.

Note that the contactless limit doesn't apply to phones and wearables, which instead use biometric checks (fingerprint and facial recognition).

Almost 60% of people would choose to keep their limit at £100

When the FCA announced its plans in December 2025 to enable financial firms to scrap the limit, MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin Lewis published a poll on X asking people what they would prefer to set their contactless limit at.

Just over 9,500 people responded and of those, six in ten (57)% said that they would prefer to keep the limit at £100. Just over 22% said they'd increase it to £200, 9% would increase it to £500, while 12% said they'd prefer to decrease it to £40.

Some said they were concerned that enabling firms to scrap the limit could encourage fraudsters to take advantage. The FCA says existing consumer protections remain in place, meaning banks must refund you in unauthorised fraud cases, such as if your card is lost or stolen.