Mastercard is now working with 29 countries across Europe and central Asia to implement increases to their contactless payment transaction limit, the payments network says.
The countries are Albania, Armenia, Belarus, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Estonia, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Tajikistan, Turkey, UK and Uzbekistan.
Details of both the old and new transaction limits in each country are available in the table below.
UPDATE NFCW has now published a new table summarising ALL the contactless payment limit raises around the world.
| Country | Currency | Current limit | New limit | Increase |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albania | LEK | 2,000 | 4,500 | 125% |
| Armenia | AMD | 12,100 | 20,000 | 65% |
| Belarus | BYN | 20 | 100 | 400% |
| Bulgaria | BGN | 50 | 100 | 100% |
| Croatia | HRK | 100 | 350 | 250% |
| Cyprus | EUR | 20 | 50 | 150% |
| Estonia | EUR | 25 | 50 | 100% |
| Georgia | GEL | 45 | 100 | 122% |
| Germany | EUR | 25 | 50 | 100% |
| Greece | EUR | 25 | 50 | 100% |
| Hungary | HUF | 5,000 | 15,000 | 200% |
| Ireland | EUR | 30 | 50 | 67% |
| Kazakhstan | KZT | 5,000 | 20,000 | 300% |
| Kosovo | EUR | 15 | 40 | 167% |
| Kyrgyzstan | KGS | 1,525 | 2,500 | 64% |
| Latvia | EUR | 25 | 50 | 100% |
| Lithuania | EUR | 25 | 50 | 100% |
| Luxembourg | EUR | 25 | 50 | 100% |
| Malta | EUR | 25 | 50 | 100% |
| N.Macedonia | MKD | 750 | 2,000 | 167% |
| Netherlands | EUR | 25 | 50 | 100% |
| Poland | PLN | 50 | 100 | 100% |
| Portugal | EUR | 20 | 50 | 150% |
| Spain | EUR | 20 | 50 | 150% |
| Sweden | SEK | 200 | 400 | 100% |
| Tajikistan | TJS | 140 | 200 | 43% |
| Turkey | TRY | 120 | 250 | 108% |
| UK | GBP | 30 | 45 | 50% |
| Uzbekistan | UZS | 52,500 | 250,000 | 376% |
“75% of all Mastercard transactions across Europe are now contactless,” Milan Gauder, Mastercard’s EVP product and innovation for Europe, explains.
“This increase in contactless limits will mean cardholders and shopkeepers will soon be able to make and receive more of their payments both quickly and securely, and without the need to enter a PIN or use cash.”
“We have all now seen how quickly people have embraced contactless payments as their preferred way to pay every day,” Gauder adds.
“Today’s announcement is designed to reflect the pace of changing behaviours of the people we all serve, giving them ease, speed and peace of mind in a fast-changing world.”
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