The £100 Contactless Limit on UK Card Machines in 2026
The FCA removed the fixed £100 UK contactless limit on 19 March 2026, and each card issuer now sets its own. Most major UK banks still use £100 for now. Above the card's limit, the customer needs to enter a PIN or use biometric authentication (Face ID, Touch ID, device PIN) on a phone wallet. Apple Pay and Google Pay support "device-authenticated" transactions above £100 on most modern terminals, up to the underlying card's daily limit (often £500 to £2,500). Where a bank keeps the £100 limit, a physical card tap above it will ask for chip and PIN.
What this means for your business
From October 2021 to March 2026 the £100 limit was a UK regulatory cap. Since 19 March 2026 the card issuer sets the limit, and most major banks still use £100. Above the card's limit, SCA requires a second authentication factor (something the customer knows or is).
For a physical card, this is the PIN entered on the terminal keypad. For a phone wallet, the biometric or device PIN on the phone counts as the second factor, so the terminal accepts the transaction without needing keypad PIN entry. Most modern UK terminals support this distinction.
Older terminals or some entry-level facilitator devices cap all contactless at £100 regardless of whether the customer is using a phone wallet. This is a device-level setting, not a card scheme limit. Modern terminals (SumUp Solo, Zettle Terminal, Square Terminal, Dojo Go Max, Worldpay Move) support device-authenticated contactless above £100. Check the device setting if a phone wallet customer is being declined above £100.
For higher-value transactions, chip-and-PIN remains the safest route. Insert the card, customer enters PIN, transaction processes. This works for any transaction up to the card's daily limit and gives the strongest chargeback defence because the cardholder authenticated with the PIN they own. Some merchants insist on chip-and-PIN for transactions above £500 or £1,000 to maximise dispute defence, even where tap and phone wallet would be technically allowed.
Key points
- The FCA removed the fixed £100 cap on 19 March 2026; card issuers now set their own limits
- Most major UK banks still use £100 for now
- Phone wallets (Apple Pay, Google Pay) can exceed £100 with biometric authentication
- Above-£100 device-authenticated transactions need terminal support, modern terminals handle this
- Older or entry-level terminals may cap all contactless at £100 regardless of wallet
- Chip-and-PIN remains the safest route for higher-value transactions
- Chargeback defence is strongest on chip-and-PIN, then phone wallet, then physical contactless
Common pitfalls
- Setting the terminal contactless limit below £100 in settings without realising, this caps phone wallets too
- Trying to split a high-value transaction into multiple sub-£100 tap-and-pays to avoid PIN entry, this is disallowed by scheme rules
- Forgetting that older terminals cap phone wallets at £100 even with biometric authentication
- Insisting on chip-and-PIN for sub-£100 transactions, this slows the queue without adding defence
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Why was the contactless limit raised from £45 to £100?
The limit rose from £45 to £100 in October 2021 to reduce PIN entry at the till. On 19 March 2026 the FCA went further and removed the fixed cap, so each bank now sets its own limit. The FCA expects most banks to keep £100 for the time being.
Is there still a cumulative limit?
Not a fixed one. The FCA removed the fixed cumulative thresholds in March 2026, but card issuers still run their own checks, so after several taps the terminal may ask for a PIN regardless of the amount. Phone wallets reset this counter with each biometric authentication.
Founder & Managing Director, Muswell Rose, founder and PSC of Best Business Loans Ltd
Adam is the founder and managing director of Muswell Rose and a founder of Best Business Loans Ltd, the company behind MerchantHQ. His career runs through insurance, mortgages, commercial finance and fintech lending, including payments and merchant services. He writes the MerchantHQ library.
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