Ireland to raise contactless transaction limit to €50

Paschal Donohoe, Ireland's Minister for Finance
LIFTING LIMIT: Ireland’s minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe has requested a rise in the contactless transaction limit

Banks in Ireland have agreed to increase the contactless transaction limit from €30 (US$32.17) to €50 (US$53.54) “to minimise the handling of cash amid Covid-19”, The Irish Times reports.

The increase has been requested by Ireland’s Minister for Finance, Paschal Donohoe, and is expected to take until 1 April to be fully in place.

“Sources said this still needed to be worked through with a number of parties, including providers of point-of-contact devices used in shops, banks, individual card schemes, as well as the retail sector,” the newspaper says.

“The planned increase is expected to take effect in stages up until the start of next month.”

Individual banks are also revising their contactless transaction fees. AIB announced on 13 March that it is putting on hold “until further notice” its plan to introduce a fee for contactless transactions.

The Bank of Ireland, meanwhile, followed on 17 March with the announcement that it would waive the usual transaction fee it charges individual customers for making a contactless transaction “for the duration of the public health emergency”.

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