Important new move builds on the phenomenal growth in use of contactless with Mastercard enabling businesses and retailers to implement limit increases quickly and efficiently to help people everywhere benefit from the fastest and simplest way to pay

Mastercard announced its commitment to enabling the increase in contactless payment limits across Europe. The move comes as 29 countries implement new limits, which will ultimately improve shopping experiences for people across the region.

Across Europe, Mastercard has championed several initiatives which have seen a dramatic increase in the use of contactless cards and mobile devices; 75% of all Mastercard transactions across Europe are now contactless. 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.

“Mastercard was the first to grasp the potential and ensure all payment terminals became contactless ready from 1st January 2020. We have all now seen how quickly people have embraced Contactless payments as their preferred way to pay every day. 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.” said Milan Gauder, Executive Vice President of Product and Innovation, Europe at Mastercard.

Among the 29 countries, UK, Ireland, Estonia and Poland are leading the way with permanent changes to limits while the likes of Netherlands and Greece are implementing temporary limit raises to help their people shop easily during this difficult time.

He added, “Since its inception, Mastercard has been championing the benefits of contactless payments as a simple, safe and fast way to pay. Today’s announcement means that not only will those who are already using contactless benefit from even more freedom to pay, in a way they want, it will also provide additional support for people with the daily challenges they face.”

Please find below all 29 countries with their old and new limits:

Country Croatia Cyprus Estonia Greece Germany Ireland Latvia Luxembourg Currency HRK EUR EUR EUR EUR EUR EUR EUR Current limit 100 20 25 25 25 30 25 25 New limit 350 50 50 50 50 50 50 50

Country Malta Netherlands Portugal Spain Poland UK Hungary Currency EUR EUR EUR EUR PLN GBP HUF Current limit 25 25 20 20 50 30 5000 New limit 50 50 50 50 100 45 15000

Country Uzbekistan Bulgaria N.Macedonia Albania Kosovo Lithuania Currency UZS BGN MKD LEK EUR EUR Current limit 52500 50 750 2000 15 25 New limit 250000 100 2000 4500 40 50

Country Sweden Armenia Belarus Georgia Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Tajikistan Turkey Currency SEK AMD BYN GEL KZT KGS TJS TRY Current limit 200 12100 20 45 5000 1525 140 120 New limit 400 20000 100 100 20000 2500 200 250