Banking
Contactless Card Limits Around the World
Published by Jessica Weisman-Pitts
Posted on December 13, 2021
Global Banking and Finance Review
Company
Global Banking and Finance Review is an online platform offering news, analysis, and opinion on the latest trends, developments, and innovations in the banking and finance industry worldwide. The platform covers a diverse range of topics, including banking, insurance, investment, wealth management, fintech, and regulatory issues. The website publishes news, press releases, opinion and advertorials on various financial organizations, products and services which are commissioned from various Companies, Organizations, PR agencies, Bloggers etc. These commissioned articles are commercial in nature. This is not to be considered as financial advice and should be considered only for information purposes. It does not reflect the views or opinion of our website and is not to be considered an endorsement or a recommendation. We cannot guarantee the accuracy or applicability of any information provided with respect to your individual or personal circumstances. Please seek Professional advice from a qualified professional before making any financial decisions. We link to various third-party websites, affiliate sales networks, and to our advertising partners websites. When you view or click on certain links available on our articles, our partners may compensate us for displaying the content to you or make a purchase or fill a form. This will not incur any additional charges to you. To make things simpler for you to identity or distinguish advertised or sponsored articles or links, you may consider all articles or links hosted on our site as a commercial article placement. We will not be responsible for any loss you may suffer as a result of any omission or inaccuracy on the website.
Published by Jessica Weisman-Pitts
Posted on December 13, 2021
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.
| Canada | 250 CAD | £146.93 |
| USA | 200 USD | £145.62 |
| Japan | 20,000 Japanese Yen | £127.35 |
| China | 1000 Chinese Yuan | £113.14 |
| Singapore | 200 Singapore Dollars | £107.85 |
| Australia | 200 AUD | £107.64 |
| New Zealand | 200 NZD | £102.81 |
| UK | £100 | £100 |
| United Arab Emirates | 500 AED | £99.05 |
| Bahrain | 50 BHD | £96.74 |
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.
| Iran | 200000 IRR | £3.43 |
| Chile | 12000 CLP | £12 |
| Poland | 100 PLN | £18.45 |
| Turkey | 250 TRY | £19.59 |
| Kenya | 3500 KES | £22.97 |
| South Africa | 500 ZAR | £23 |
| Brazil | 200 BR | £26.43 |
| Uganda | 135000 UGX | £27.17 |
| North Macedonia | 2000 MKD | £27.40 |
| Egypt | 600 EGP | £27.81 |
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
The contactless credit limits around the world data collected from following sources:
Figures converted to GBP using the exchange rate on October 18th 2021 .
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.
| Canada | 250 CAD | £146.93 |
| USA | 200 USD | £145.62 |
| Japan | 20,000 Japanese Yen | £127.35 |
| China | 1000 Chinese Yuan | £113.14 |
| Singapore | 200 Singapore Dollars | £107.85 |
| Australia | 200 AUD | £107.64 |
| New Zealand | 200 NZD | £102.81 |
| UK | £100 | £100 |
| United Arab Emirates | 500 AED | £99.05 |
| Bahrain | 50 BHD | £96.74 |
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.
| Iran | 200000 IRR | £3.43 |
| Chile | 12000 CLP | £12 |
| Poland | 100 PLN | £18.45 |
| Turkey | 250 TRY | £19.59 |
| Kenya | 3500 KES | £22.97 |
| South Africa | 500 ZAR | £23 |
| Brazil | 200 BR | £26.43 |
| Uganda | 135000 UGX | £27.17 |
| North Macedonia | 2000 MKD | £27.40 |
| Egypt | 600 EGP | £27.81 |
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
The contactless credit limits around the world data collected from following sources:
Figures converted to GBP using the exchange rate on October 18th 2021 .