Using your contactless card

It’s quick and easy to use contactless

  • Simply hold your contactless card against a reader to pay up to £100 without entering your PIN.
  • Your contactless card offers the same anti-fraud protection as chip and PIN.
  • You can reduce your contactless limit to be less than £100.

To help protect your account, you may need to enter your PIN occasionally, especially after multiple uses in a single day. Contactless limits through digital wallet providers may also be higher. To check your limit, contact your provider.

Steps to take

We'll guide you through it.

    1. Log in to the app and select 'cards' on the bottom right of the app.
    2. Select 'card freezes and limits' and scroll down to find 'change your contactless card limit'.

Getting started in the app

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Let’s look at the details

  • Contactless is a quicker way of paying for something in a shop, restaurant or business that has a contactless reader. All you need to do is hold your contactless card over the reader to pay.

    The first time you use your contactless card, you’ll need to use chip and PIN or sign for your purchase. Once you've done that, all future transactions can be contactless. Hold your card close to the reader - around two to four centimetres - for it to work. If the price of the transaction is over £100, you’ll need to use chip and PIN as normal.

    If you are paying contactless through a digital wallet provider the limit may be higher, check with your provider.

    For added security, every now and then you’ll need to enter your PIN for transactions under £100. This is likely to happen if you make several contactless transactions in a row.

    Your contactless card has the same anti-fraud protection as regular ‘chip and PIN’ cards.

    If your card is lost or stolen, you are also protected against fraud loss, as long as you inform us as soon as you realise your card is missing. 

    For added protection, you may be asked to insert your card into the card reader and type your PIN. Your PIN will always be needed for payments of over £100.

    Most contactless payments will show on your statement after a few days.

    You should also check your pending transactions as payments may show there first.

  • Look for the symbol with four curved lines that get larger from left to right. This symbol, found on the front or back of your card, resembles the Wi-Fi icon.

    Our cards now come with contactless functionality as standard. 

    If you prefer not to use contactless, you can freeze these transactions through the mobile app.

  • You can make payments anywhere that displays the contactless symbol.

    You can use contactless to pay for all Transport for London services.

    More about paying for TfL services with contactless

  • You can use your contactless card multiple times a day for purchases under £100. After several consecutive uses, you might be asked to use chip and PIN. This is just an extra security step to confirm it’s you making the payments.

  • Yes, contactless cards can be used outside the UK. Just look out for the contactless symbol.

  • No. The reader and card are set up to make sure that you will only be charged for one transaction.

  • You cannot make a contactless payment of over £100 using your card. You will need to insert your card into the card reader and type in your PIN or complete a swipe transaction.

    Different limits may apply if you are using Apple or Google Pay.

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