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Contactless payment limit raised to 50 euros

Published May 12, 2020 - 2 mins reading time
Bank watch
Raising the contactless payment limit is one of the measures introduced by the government to limit the transmission of the coronavirus. Since May 11, the limit has been raised from 30 to 50 euros.

Cumbersome and delicate IT industrialization

Since Monday May 11, the first day of deconfinement in France, the contactless payment limit has been raised to 50 euros. This measure is part of the barrier measures advocated by the government and merchants to limit the risk of Covid-19 transmission.

Raising the limit was already under consideration, but the coronavirus epidemic has accelerated discussions with French banks. It would appear that this method of payment reduces the risk of contamination, compared with payment by bank card with code entry, or payment in cash. The reason it took until May 11 for the changeover to take effect is that it involves "a complex and delicate IT industrialization process", which cannot be rushed, as the bankcard group recently explained. According to Frédéric Oudéa, Chairman of the French Banking Federation (FBF), this implementation "proves that banks are continuously mobilized in this crisis to meet the needs of their customers". The interest in raising the contactless payment ceiling is all the greater in view of the fact that the average amount spent by the French is rising.

Raising the ceiling to 50 euros is not always automatic

In France, most cards can accept this new limit without having to be changed. However, a very small number of customers will have to wait until they renew their bankcard to take advantage of this measure.

The cards that require no action belong to the following networks in particular: BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole, La Banque Postale, Crédit Mutuel, Arkéa, Fortuneo, Orange Bank, Axa Banque, Nickel, N26, Ma French Bank. In some establishments, raising the contactless payment limit will not be automatic, and will require either an ATM withdrawal or a payment with code. This will be the case, for example, at Société Générale, ING, BforBank and Crédit du Nord.

As a reminder, contactless payment works with both conventional cards and those with systematic authorization, often issued by online banks and neobanks. The functionality must then be activated by the cardholder with a few clicks, although it is generally activated by default. To pay for a purchase using this method, simply hold the card up to the payment terminal. After a certain number of transactions, the cardholder may be asked to enter the code, which resets the counters to zero.