France to raise contactless transaction limit to €50 too
The contactless transaction limit in France will be increased from €30 to €50 from 11 May, the date set by the French government for the country’s strict coronavirus lockdown to begin to be lifted.
The increase in the limit has been announced by the French Banking Federation (FBF) and is expected to be gradually phased in by individual retailers and their payments suppliers over the coming weeks.
“France was already working on increasing the contactless payment limit to €50 by 2021, but has hurried the process in light of the coronavirus crisis,” The Local reports.
Belgium increases contactless transaction limit to €50 too
Belgium is to increase the contactless transaction limit from €25 ($US27.07) to €50 ($US54.54) from 14 April, “to curb the spread of the coronavirus.”
“For those who make several consecutive contactless card payments without a PIN, the cumulative limit is also increased to €100 ($US109.07),” Belgian financial services federation Febelfin says.
“In the past you could not make more than €50 in consecutive contactless card payments without a PIN.”
“Banks are working together with all stakeholders involved to make adjustments to payment terminals,” Febelfin adds. From 14 April, the payment terminals that are active today — within the current quarantine measures — will be gradually adapted to the new limits. The measure will remain in force for as long as necessary and will be regularly evaluated.”
Switzerland and Liechtenstein double contactless payments limit
The contactless transaction limit in Switzerland and Liechtenstein is to be temporarily increased from 40 francs (US$41.60) to 80 francs (US$83.21) “in order to protect customers”.
The increase will be applied by Visa, Mastercard and American Express “as well as all card issuers and service partners in Switzerland,” Postfinance, the financial services division of Swiss Post, has announced.
“The organisations and retailers concerned are currently in the process of making the necessary adjustments to the technical infrastructure,” Postfinance says. It will take a few days for the changeover to be implemented for all cards throughout Switzerland. The goal is for the temporarily increased limits to be available everywhere from mid-April 2020.”
