Major payment shake up could make Apple Pay redundant in the UK

There was a time when we all had to remember our four-digit PIN for every card we wanted to pay with. Those days are long gone now, however, with contactless payments having been around since 2007 and systems like Apple Pay since 2014.

Both methods allow you to tap for quick payments without a PIN, though where contactless with a card has a limit of £100, services like Apple Pay and Google Pay don’t have a limit thanks to the extra protection offered by phones to authenticate payments.

What is changing for contactless payments?

Things are about to change, though. As reported by the BBC, the £100 contactless limit will be lifted from March 2026, giving banks and card providers the power to set a maximum themselves, or allow an unlimited single payment amount without a PIN.

It would effectively mean that systems like Apple Pay and Google Pay will lose one of their USPs given those looking to tap to pay on a transaction of more than £100 would potentially be able to do so without the need to get out their phone or smartwatch.

The BBC report said that the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is also encouraging banks and card providers to allow individuals to set their own limits, as well as have the option to turn contactless payments off entirely should they wish to. It also claimed that despite the changes being implemented from March, the FCA didn’t necessarily expect card providers to immediately change the current limit.

In a survey conducted by the FCA on the rules changing, it was noted that 78 per cent of people didn’t want changes to the current limit, and it’s easy to understand why. If cards were to be stolen, it would allow thieves to spend more money before detected, and there are other concerns too. The BBC report notes the potential for consumers to “spend without thinking” as well as “abusers [having] free access to drain a survivor's bank account with no checks or alerts”.

Still, it looks like the change is coming regardless, so hopefully there will be some measures put in place that allow consumers to set their own limits should they wish to. For us, we will stick to Apple Pay and Google Pay as we don’t bring our cards out anymore anyway.