Contactless is now the most popular way to pay in the UK. It accounts for 67% of credit card transactions and 76% of debit card transactions, with the average contactless payment worth just under £18.
The change means you could soon be able to tap and spend more than £100 at once in shops using your card, without being asked to enter your Pin.
With fraud on contactless cards rising, we explain what’s changing and what you can do to keep your money safe.
so you can see more independent news written by expert Which? journalists.What's changing?
Late last year, banking regulator the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced that the £100 contactless payment limit for individual payments would be scrapped from 19 March. This allows banks and providers to choose their own approach.
The cumulative contactless payment limit of £300 worth of transactions, or five consecutive contactless payments, will also no longer be mandatory for banks.
Contactless cards became widespread in the UK from around 2014 – the year in which they were first accepted on the Transport for London network.
The move to scrap the cap finally brings contactless payments in line with those on mobile wallets such as Apple Pay, Google Wallet and Samsung Pay, where there is no mandatory limit on individual payments.
Find out more:What will my bank do?
Most cardholders will see no immediate changes on 19 March.
Which? contacted American Express, Barclays, Chase, Co-operative Bank, HSBC, Lloyds, Monzo, Nationwide, NatWest, Santander, Starling, TSB and Virgin Money. All told us they have no immediate plans to remove or increase the current £100 cap for individual transactions.
Barclays, Lloyds, Monzo, NatWest, Starling and TSB currently allow you to set your own limit lower than £100, usually via your mobile banking app. The Co-operative Bank said it plans to introduce this option later this year.
None of those banks have announced plans to let customers either increase their personal cap above £100 or turn it off completely. However, most said they were keeping their caps under review, so it's possible we'll see changes in the coming months.
Find out moreAm I at risk from contactless card fraud?
Contactless card fraud happens when fraudsters use lost or stolen cards to make contactless purchases in shops.
The absolute risk is low, with overall losses amounting to just 1.2p per £100 of contactless transactions in the first half of 2025, according to industry body UK Finance. That's much lower than the loss across all types of card fraud, which was 6.9p per £100 during the period.
It's important to remember that victims are almost always reimbursed in full for unauthorised transactions on their cards.
Technically, the Payment Services Regulations allow banks to hold you responsible for the first £35 of any unauthorised card fraud (though you should be reimbursed anything above this). In practice, we find providers very rarely do this and almost always refund victims in full.
To reduce your risk of this type of fraud, keep your cards securely by your side when out and about, monitor your bank statements carefully and consider setting up real-time spending notifications in your mobile banking app.
You can also lower your own cap (including to £0), if your provider allows you to do this.
If you spot any suspicious transactions, contact your provider immediately.
Find out more:What does the FCA say?
The regulator told us the changes aim to give banks and payment firms greater flexibility to manage contactless payments, while keeping strong incentives to prevent fraud.
It told Which? that banks and payments firms will only be able to process a contactless transaction if they have identified that it poses a low level of risk, and confirmed that firms remain liable for reimbursing contactless fraud.
It pointed to its guidance document for firms, which states that when deciding whether a transaction is low risk, providers can consider factors such as the individual and cumulative value of transactions, as well as the 'normal spending or behavioural pattern of the payer, or location of the payer'.
source https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/contactless-100-cap-ending-how-to-protect-yourself-from-fraud-aziUi3d0QZTq