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Contactless payments without a PIN temporarily raised to €50 per transaction

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From this week, consumers can make contactless point-of-sale payments of up to €50 per transaction without entering a PIN, using a debit card, smartphone or wearable.

Information board indicates that tap-to-pay is temporarily possible without a PIN code up to an amount of 50 euros.

Until now, consumers always had to enter their PIN on the payment terminal for contactless debit card or wearable payments above €25. This transaction limit is being temporarily raised to €50. Consumers and businesses do not need to take any action; the change will be implemented fully automatically.

Helping to combat the coronavirus

Customers paying contactlessly will temporarily need to touch payment terminals less often. Banks and payment terminal suppliers hope this will help combat the further spread of the novel coronavirus.

Payment terminals updated remotely and automatically

Approximately 380,000 Dutch payment terminals will be updated remotely and automatically for this change to the transaction limit. The new limit is expected to be active on more than three-quarters of all payment terminals by Wednesday 25 March. It has already been raised in virtually all supermarkets and other busy shops.

Sandra Molenaar, Director of the Dutch Consumers’ Association , welcomes the increase: “The less often consumers have to touch a payment terminal to enter their PIN, the better. It is important to us that banks continue to reimburse any unauthorised use up to the higher limits.”

Information materials

“We are pleased with this swift action. We are already asking customers to pay by debit card as much as possible, preferably using a contactless debit card, mobile phone or wearable,” says Eus Peters, Director of the Dutch Retail Council. “The fact that this is now possible without a PIN for larger purchases as well is a great help.” Retailers and other businesses can download customer information materials from pin.nl (in Dutch) .

Cumulative limit

Another contactless payment limit, known as the cumulative limit, was raised by banks last week from €50 to €100. This cumulative limit applies to several consecutive contactless payments made without a PIN. Banks will continue to reimburse any unauthorised use of stolen or lost contactless debit cards without a PIN up to the higher limits.

Beware of fraudulent messages and calls purporting to be from banks

Consumers and retailers do not need to do anything at all for the increases in the contactless payment limits without a PIN. The changes will be implemented fully automatically for all existing debit cards issued by every bank. Banks will therefore not send unsolicited messages or call their customers about them. Do not be deceived by scammers and fraudsters exploiting the circumstances surrounding the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) to send fraudulent emails, text messages and letters (in Dutch) or call people.

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