UK FCA engagement paper on contactless payments limits

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published an engagement paper which seeks views on increasing or removing the current £100 contactless limit, giving payment service providers (PSPs), consumers and businesses greater flexibility to decide limits that work for them. The FCA is engaging stakeholders before consulting on any revised standards, rules or guidance. Given the regulatory and market trends happening around contactless payments, the FCA is considering several options for amending its existing standards for contactless limits: (i) Introducing a new risk-based exemption for in-person transactions which would give PSPs greater flexibility to set their own contactless limits for in-person transactions as long as they are able to achieve low rates of fraud; (ii) Amending the limits in the existing contactless payments exemption, including removing the limits altogether; and (iii) Relying on the consumer duty following legislative change.

The FCA notes that any changes would need to support good consumer outcomes as required by the consumer duty. The FCA is considering prioritising reforms to the contactless payments exemption under its existing regulatory framework before considering wider strong consumer authentication (SCA) requirements. It aims to replace SCA more widely, as and when legislation allows it to do so. With legislative change, other options for reform to contactless payments may be possible and the FCA is also interested to hear if there are alternative approaches which it might implement in the longer term when legislation allows. The paper poses eight specific questions for feedback, which is requested by 9 May.

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