Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of allowing customers to opt-out of contactless payments.

The Government believes that contactless payment cards bring benefits to consumers and businesses across the UK by facilitating easy and secure payments.

The legal contactless payment limits are set by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) through the Strong Customer Authentication rules, and the FCA has the power to amend these limits subject to public consultation and Treasury approval. In March, the FCA raised the legal single contactless payment limit increased from £45 to £100, and the cumulative transaction limit increased from £130 to £300.

In making this decision, the FCA considered the risks to customers, including the impacts on fraud, alongside the benefits. Within these limits, some card providers offer the opportunity for their customers to vary their individual contactless limits, or to request cards without contactless functionality. These are commercial and operational considerations for individual card providers.