UK’s FCA Seeks Comment on Removing Contactless Card Payment Limit

The United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is seeking public comment on its proposal to remove the 100-pound (about $129) limit on contactless card payments.

The FCA released an engagement paper that outlines several ways the regulator could alter its approach to contactless payment limits Friday (March 14) and will accept comments on the paper until May 9.

The regulator currently sets limits on the value and number of contactless payments that consumers can make before authentication, such as a PIN entry, is required, according to a call for input published Friday.

Now, the FCA is considering whether removing those limits would give consumers and businesses greater choice, flexibility and smoother purchases; give firms greater control; and promote innovative payment methods or fraud prevention solutions, according to a press release issued Friday.

At the same time, the regulator wants to ensure that consumers are protected, as they are now by legislation that requires firms to reimburse consumers in cases of unauthorized payment fraud, the release said.

The FCA’s proposal is part of its effort to contribute to economic growth in the U.K., per the release.

“We’ve worked fast to progress this work which is one of around 50 measures we put forward at the start of the year to help support economic growth across the U.K. and, in turn, improve lives,” David Geale, executive director of payments and digital assets at the FCA, said in the release.

Economic Secretary to the Treasury Emma Reynolds said in the release that every regulator has a part to play in the government’s Plan for Change.

“The FCA’s review of the contactless payment limits, including removing the £100 limit on individual payments, is a welcome step to ensure that families can safely benefit from more flexibility when making purchases,” Reynolds said.

A removal of the contactless limit was one of several proposals the FCA included in a Jan. 16 letter to Prime Minister Keir Starmer, which it sent in response to the government’s recommendations on growth, PYMNTS reported at the time.

Starmer promised an era of “national renewal” following the Labour Party’s election victory in a landslide vote.

On Tuesday (March 11), Starmer announced plans to abolish the U.K.’s Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) as part of a broader effort to streamline regulation. The PSR will be consolidated into the FCA.