Contactless Card Limits Around the World

Global Overview of Contactless Card Limits by Country

Which country has the highest contactless payment limits?

By Richard Lynch, Managing Director at Suits Me discusses the findings of new research by Suits Me on the changing contactless card limits around the world.

The UK was an early adopter of contactless payment technology, introducing the first contactless-enabled cards in 2007. Since then, the technology has come a long way and our research shows that the UK is leading in Europe with its new £100 contactless payment limit.

But we’re far from the biggest contactless spenders – across the Atlantic, the US and Canada both have contactless limits that convert to more than £145, and in Japan consumers can spend up to £127 by simply tapping their card against a reader.

The UK’s contactless limit is now £100, after rising from £45 limit on October 15th, enabling consumers to make larger purchases without the need for chip and PIN. The majority of bank accounts around the world now come with contactless technology, with 88% of debit cards and 81% of credit cards in the UK containing contactless functionality.¹

The new contactless limit is more than double the previous maximum payment of £45 introduced in April 2020. Other countries around the world have also recently increased their contactless card limit, so we have created the below infographic to show how contactless limits differ around the world:

UK has the highest contactless limit in Europe

The UK now has the highest contactless card limit across Europe. The £100 UK limit is over double the €50 (£42) of that across the eurozone countries such as Spain, Germany and Portugal.

Switzerland has the next highest limit in Europe after the UK with a contactless limit of 80 Swiss Francs (£63). Sweden has a contactless limit of £34, while their Scandinavian neighbours Norway have a limit similar to the rest of Europe of £43.

Poland has the lowest contactless limit in Europe of just £18 while North Macedonia are just above at £27.

Canada tops the contactless limit around the world

Canada just edges the USA to top spot with a contactless limit of 250 CAD which is just below £150. While the United States have a limit of 200 USD (£146).

Japan, China and Singapore all have contactless limits above £105, while Australia and New Zealand sit just above the UK’s contactless card limit of £100.

Iran’s contactless limit of less than £4 is the lowest around the world

On the other end of the spectrum, Iran has the lowest contactless limit around the world, with the country’s 200,000 Iranian Rial limit converting to just £3.43. Chile has the lowest South American limit of £12, while Brazil’s is similar to the African nations Kenya and Uganda who have a limit below £30.

The contactless limit varies across other major countries as well, with Russia having a contactless limit of 5000 Russian rouble (£51) while India is just below with a limit of 5000 Indian rupees (£48).

Methodology and Sources

1. https://www.ukfinance.org.uk/sites/default/files/uploads/SUMMARY-UK-Payment-Markets-2021-FINAL.pdf

The contactless credit limits around the world data collected from following sources:

• https://www.mastercard.com/news/europe/en-uk/newsroom/press-releases/en-gb/2020/may/contactless-continent/
• https://www.nfcw.com/2020/03/26/366173/table-contactless-payment-transaction-limit-increases-around-the-world/
• https://www.americanexpress.com/us/merchant/contactless-thresholds-2020.html
• https://thefintechtimes.com/contactless-payments-just-got-safer-as-uk-set-to-have-highest-european-contactless-limit/

Figures converted to GBP using the exchange rate on October 18^th 2021  .