UK Contactless payment limit increases to £30

[xxMATTGxx]

UK residents can now make contactless payments of up to £30 without the need for a PIN.

The increase from the prior limit of £20 means that people will be able to use phone-based payment services like Apple Pay, as well as contactless cards, for a wider range of transactions across the country. The UK Cards Association, which decided on the change, says that £30 covers common usages like an average supermarket spend, as well as most payments made in pubs, cinemas, gift shops, and elsewhere.

The question remains how long this limit will last. Apple Pay has no transaction limit in the US, the only other country where it's available, but the iPhone guarantees an extra layer of security. In the UK, many people also use contactless cards that work without any other authentication, so the limit is in place to prevent easy fraud and theft if the card is lost. Some retailers have been operating terminals with a higher transaction limit for Apple Pay, but today's move raises the bar across the nation.

Source: http://www.theverge.com/2015/9/1/9238373/contactless-payment-limit-raised-to-30-pounds


Some good news for us Brits who use contactless payments or Apple Pay!

[Cerinacy]

Some shops aren't accepting the £30 limit just yet as the software on the card machines needs to be upgraded and some retailers in the UK haven't done this just yet.

[Hannah]

Unless anyone loses their card - then someone can willingly spend £30 each transaction rather than the initial £20 before the card holder realises their card is no longer in their possession.

I've always been paranoid about losing my card purely because of its contactless feature. It's much more difficult to spend on a card when you need a pin to make purchases.

[Kyle]

What do you guys use contactless to pay for primarily?

[Hannah]

What do you guys use contactless to pay for primarily?

When a little corner shop has contactless and doesn't give me the option to pay with chip and pin

[xxMATTGxx]

Some shops aren't accepting the £30 limit just yet as the software on the card machines needs to be upgraded and some retailers in the UK haven't done this just yet.

Yeah the article does state it will take a couple of weeks for it to be widely adopted.


Unless anyone loses their card - then someone can willingly spend £30 each transaction rather than the initial £20 before the card holder realises their card is no longer in their possession.

I've always been paranoid about losing my card purely because of its contactless feature. It's much more difficult to spend on a card when you need a pin to make purchases.

I guess you have a point but you are probably protected by your bank. This is from the Visa contactless payment page:


What if a Visa contactless card gets lost or stolen? Isn’t it like writing a blank cheque to a fraudster?

No. Although it looks very simple to make a transaction, Visa contactless cards are protected in many different ways.

Each participating contactless bank sets a limit on the number or value of Visa contactless transactions that can be made before a cardholder is asked to do a normal chip and PIN transaction. If you are a regular user of Visa contactless, you may have noticed this happening – as, every now and then, you will be asked to verify your transaction with your PIN to prove that it is you in possession of your card.

And, just like any other Visa transaction, your bank is routinely looking out for any unusual transactions that may show that it is not you using your card. You will get the same level of protection as any other Visa Debit or Visa Credit transaction. And, if your card is lost or stolen, the card will be blocked by your bank instantly.

If your card is lost or stolen you should notify your bank as soon as possible. If anyone has fraudulently used your contactless card to make a payment, providing you take reasonable precautions to protect your card and let your bank know as soon as you realise it’s gone, you will not be responsible for any losses incurred (subject to your bank’s terms and conditions).



What do you guys use contactless to pay for primarily?

I use it anywhere that accepts contactless.

[Tom]

I think it's good that they've raised the limit! I do use contactless where possible but it's only mainly available in food places I go to. When it's available in places like Sainsburys, etc. I would probably use Apple Pay a lot!

[Joe]

I only use it when I can't be bothered so this is a decent addition!

[MKR&*42]

Very happy about this, wondered when they were gonna raise the limit :D

[Hannah]

I guess you have a point but you are probably protected by your bank. This is from the Visa contactless payment page:


I dunno, how much proof are each of the bank going to want before reimbursing losses? Banks don't like giving you your own money, let alone paying for losses. :rolleyes:

[xxMATTGxx]

I dunno, how much proof are each of the bank going to want before reimbursing losses? Banks don't like giving you your own money, let alone paying for losses. :rolleyes:

Just don't lose your card ;)

[Hannah]

Just don't lose your card ;)

That's the plan, Batman!

[peteyt]

Just don't lose your card ;)


That's the plan, Batman!

I'm unsure about contactless myself - It seems to choose usability over security - yes there might be limits and it may occasionally ask for a pin but if it is used fraudulently I wonder how easy it will be to get your money back.

However there is also another worry - It seems there is a possibility of cards being scanned by cyber criminals, criminals trying to scan cards from a distance to steal data. There are already wallets available now with RFID blocking technologies, designed to avoid this type of situation.

[Mikey]

I use it alot, mainly in supermarkets. People say "Oh I don't use contactless because it's not safe". It's still on the card so regardless of you using it or not, it defeats that statement.

[xxMATTGxx]

I'm unsure about contactless myself - It seems to choose usability over security - yes there might be limits and it may occasionally ask for a pin but if it is used fraudulently I wonder how easy it will be to get your money back.

However there is also another worry - It seems there is a possibility of cards being scanned by cyber criminals, criminals trying to scan cards from a distance to steal data. There are already wallets available now with RFID blocking technologies, designed to avoid this type of situation.

That is also covered on the FAQ on the Visa website -


Can a fraudster with a bogus contactless terminal steal money from my card by brushing up against me?

Today’s fraudsters are on the hunt for full card details. The only information that could possibly be read from a contactless card is the card number, the expiry date and in some instances, the cardholder name – the same information that’s available on the front of your card.

On its own this information is simply not useful for today’s fraudsters – who also need to get their hands on the really sensitive information, such as the CVV code (the three digit security code on the back of your card), PIN numbers, Verified by Visa passcodes, card security codes, billing addresses and other hidden security data. None of these essential details can be read from a contactless card.

[Reality]

To be honest I haven't really used Contact less on my card a lot I usually use my phone instead as it's always in my hand over my card, and has a NFC sim card as well as the phone being NFC itself so it makes so much sense. However, I've been hearing that some people are being taken out of pocket because of NFC systems (NFC - Near Field Communication, the technology in your contacless cards) whereby, people are walking past picking up the NFC signals and taking money from users banks, just because they're within x distance.

[xxMATTGxx]

To be honest I haven't really used Contact less on my card a lot I usually use my phone instead as it's always in my hand over my card, and has a NFC sim card as well as the phone being NFC itself so it makes so much sense. However, I've been hearing that some people are being taken out of pocket because of NFC systems (NFC - Near Field Communication, the technology in your contacless cards) whereby, people are walking past picking up the NFC signals and taking money from users banks, just because they're within x distance.

Source?

[MKR&*42]

Contactless Card Fraud makes up an absolutely minuscule percentage of all card fraud (inb4 "thts cuz der nt many of them!! > http://www.theukcardsassociation.org.uk/contactless_contactless_statistics/ = 69 million in the uk),and if you're stupid enough to lose your card then 1) you deserve it, 2) the bank will still compensate you for everything.

--

Obviously this is different if your card is stolen, but it's really irritating how melodramatic people get about contactless cards. I've had mine for 2 years+ and have had no problems with it and find it a fantastic time saving tool.

[Alkaz]

One of our lady members at work, works for Lloyds Bank in the fraud department and she says that they're pretty quick to spot any fraudulent activity. For example if you spend £5 a day in Starbucks at about 8:30am then all of a sudden you're spending £30 every half hour at every Starbucks around then they can kind of see that it's not you that's spending the money and will contact you and cancel the card etc.

[Reality]

I did say "hearing" which is verbal communication, not written and means there's no written or documented source - Soz.
Source?

[Nli.]

Source?


To be honest I haven't really used Contact less on my card a lot I usually use my phone instead as it's always in my hand over my card, and has a NFC sim card as well as the phone being NFC itself so it makes so much sense. However, I've been hearing that some people are being taken out of pocket because of NFC systems (NFC - Near Field Communication, the technology in your contacless cards) whereby, people are walking past picking up the NFC signals and taking money from users banks, just because they're within x distance.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-22545804

[xxMATTGxx]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-22545804

2013, I wonder if it's been fixed.

[peteyt]

2013, I wonder if it's been fixed.

That's the problem - with new technology comes new ways to scam people, new flaws etc. It didn't take people long to find ways to get past fingerprint scanners in most of the phones using them. And that's what worries me about contactless - it's still a new technology.

At the same time - there's been lots of incidents in the past with petrol stations for example setting cameras up to capture people's pins, so it does have a benefit.

[xxMATTGxx]

That's the problem - with new technology comes new ways to scam people, new flaws etc. It didn't take people long to find ways to get past fingerprint scanners in most of the phones using them. And that's what worries me about contactless - it's still a new technology.

At the same time - there's been lots of incidents in the past with petrol stations for example setting cameras up to capture people's pins, so it does have a benefit.

Then you may as well store your money under your bed or something.

[Phil]

Nice one! It's still only €15 in Ireland so hopefully it raises soon here too. I use it wherever possible but it's surprising the amount of places here that still aren't set up for it. I'm not paranoid about it at all and will keep using it wherever possible. I don't think I can do it on my phone though like you guys are talking about???

[Jake]

I kick off at anyone who attempts to use contactless when i give them my card.
It takes like 5 days for the money to be shown its come out my account and i always think i have more than i do so i stopped using it. The bank won't give me a card without contactless unless i change my account & that requires changing way too many direct debits and payment details that i cannot be bothered with

[Alysha]

Some guy I work with ended up paying for someone's shopping because he leaned over the card reader to help the customer and his card was in his pocket. I never get over that story.

[welshcake]

No Alysha It wasn't that.
He took his staff card out to cancel a card transaction (our card readers are horrible so if you click card payment on the till and you want to cancel it, you either have to wait for it to time out or you can swipe your staff card down the card reader and that cancels it too) but anyway.
He took his staff card out of his shirt pocket to cancel a customers transaction and he also took his bank card out
when he went to swipe his staff card, the card machine caught his bank card and he ended up paying for a £20+ shop hahaha rip

i don't have contactless on my card but I use apple pay all the time because I'm forever forgetting to bring my card to work and stuff. No card means no dinner so I complain and get grumpy
it would be handy for me when it goes up

[Meanies]

I've had a contactless card for yonks but not once have I used it. No real reason why I don't use it but I guess I'm just so used to putting my pin in

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk

[Thordenhime]

YES MORE BEER AT WETHERSPOONS WITHOUT CASH

[Matt]

Interesting.

Over here it's $100 or less where you can use 'paypass'. Everywhere pretty much has it too, except maybe older shops.

[xxMATTGxx]

Interesting.

Over here it's $100 or less where you can use 'paypass'. Everywhere pretty much has it too, except maybe older shops.

That's like what, £45 or something? So it's not that far off from being the same.

[e5]

I got an email from Barclays saying my limit had gone up. didn't realise it was global