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Contactless Card Payment Limits

Somebody has published a map and list of Contactless Card Payment Limits by country.
There are significant differences, from PLN 50 (€12) in Poland to DKK 350 (€47) in Denmark, probably reflecting the different costs in each country.
The map is here: https://merchantmachine.co.uk/contactless-limits/

And in list form below:

Country / EUR Limit / Local Currency Limit
Australia € 61.79 A$100
Austria € 25.00 € 25
Bangladesh € 31.47 BDT3000
Belgium € 25.00 € 25
Brazil € 11.67 R$50,00
Bulgaria € 12.78 25 BGN
Canada € 65.22 $CA100
Chile € 15.17 CLP$ 12,000
China € 127.70 CN¥1000
Croatia € 13.46 100HRK
Czech Republic € 19.52 500 CZK
Denmark € 46.86 350 DKK
Estonia € 25.00 € 25
Finland € 25.00 € 25
France € 30.00 € 30
Germany € 25.00 € 25
Greece € 25.00 € 25
Hong Kong € 111.90 HKD$1000
Hungary € 15.56 5000 HUF
Iceland € 37.26 ISK 5,000
India € 25.20 Rs. 2000
Ireland € 30.00 € 30
Italy € 25.00 € 25
Japan € 161.60 JP¥20000
Latvia € 25.00 € 25
Lithuania € 25.00 € 25
Macedonia, Republic of € 12.15 750 MKD
Malaysia € 53.03 RM250
Netherlands € 25.00 € 25
New Zealand € 47.33 NZ$80
Norway € 20.35 200 NOK
Poland € 11.66 50 PLN
Portugal € 20.00 € 20
Romania € 21.45 100 lei
Russia € 12.96 ₽1000
Saudi Arabia € 23.38 100 SR
Serbia € 16.90 2000RSD
Singapore € 64.55 S$ 100
Slovakia € 20.00 € 20
Slovenia € 15.00 € 15
South Africa € 31.39 500 ZAR
Spain € 20.00 € 20
Sri Lanka € 24.01 LKR 5,000
Sweden € 19.58 200 SEK
Switzerland € 35.57 40 CHF
Thailand € 41.14 ฿1500
Turkey € 14.80 90 TL
Ukraine € 15.74 500 UAH
United Kingdom € 33.52 £30
United States of America € 87.70 $100

This category is misnomer. This is not exactly a money SAVING subject, more a money spending topic!

Posted by
32510 posts

The one you don't mention is Luxembourg which has no limit.

Posted by
752 posts

Thanks for this list, Chris. Yes money spending, not saving...maybe the Forum needs a category like the FT’s How to Spend It :)

So Japan, China, Hong Kong and the US allow the largest individual transaction amounts. I wonder how frequently these amounts are revised.

Posted by
32510 posts

In the UK there has been discussion for some time - still not gone anywhere - about upping it to £50 (€57.72 in today's money). We'll just watch to see if/when that happens.

It is really a moot point as Apple Pay comes with no or high limits most places so if the transaction is too much for a contactless card the contactless phone can help - or there's always the good old chip and PIN.

On a related matter I read this morning that JC Penney, the American department store that has been dicing with financial trouble for so many years, has banned the use of Apple Pay in its stores.

Posted by
752 posts

Here’s the JC Penney explanation:
ApplePay at Penney’s

Looks like software/hardware update costs and timing versus actual customer use. They haven’t closed the door completely.

Posted by
32510 posts

What I read was that they don't like Apple not sharing the customer data and where around the store the customer browses and shops. They figure if they can get the data from their own system it will help them make more money.

Posted by
1792 posts

I guess then the merchant is able to set a lower limit? I have a restaurant here that takes Apple Pay but i have to sign for 20 or 30 USD charges.

Posted by
32510 posts

don't know about over the pond but I do know that merchants here sometimes have lower limits so it must be them that choose to .