Lloyds Lifts Contactless Spending Limits

Starting next month, customers of three Lloyds Banking Group institutions will be able to set their own contactless spending limits.

According to reports, the change will coincide with the U.K.’s increase of the national transaction limit to £100 (US$137), which is scheduled to go into effect on Oct. 15.

The banks in question are the flagship Lloyds Bank, Halifax and the Bank of Scotland, which are adding new card control functions to their mobile apps, letting customers choose a spending limit between £30 (US$41) and £95 (US$130) and to turn their card’s contactless functionality on and off.

In addition, customers will be able to adjust their limit up and down in £5 (US$7) increments or simply keep it at the default £100 setting.

“When the contactless limit increases, our customers will be able to use new tools in our mobile app to switch contactless on and off and also set their own transaction limit,” said Lloyds Banking Group’s Philip Robinson. “We’ve listened to customer feedback to introduce this option, which will allow them to make the most of the £100 limit in a way that works for them.”

The U.K. raised its contactless transaction limit from £30 to £45 last April before announcing plans to increase it to £100 earlier this year, one of its first moves upon officially separating from the European Union.

Read more: Banks Ask UK Treasury to Increase Limit on Contactless Payments

As PYMNTS noted at the time, the change means more convenience for shoppers, but would also signify a step away from the EU's rules.

UK Finance, a city lobby group, originally proposed the idea, working in tandem with card service providers.

Contactless cards, also known as “tap and go” cards, were first rolled out in 2007 and only had a limit of £10, which was then increased to £15 in 2010, £20 in 2012 and £30 in 2015, before settling on £45 or £50 in agreement with the European Commission as the COVID-19 pandemic began last March.