Taking card payments at your shop: contactless limits and settlement

The rules on contactless payments changed on 19 March 2026. There is no longer one limit set by the regulator that applies to every card in the UK. This article covers what applies now, who sets the limit, and how long your card takings take to reach your business account. It is written for people opening or running an independent shop.

This is an overview of the main points to think about. The detail depends on your payments provider, your bank and your customer’s card, so use the official sources linked here and check your own terms.

For advice on your specific situation, speak to a qualified accountant, solicitor or licensed adviser.

Key takeaways

• The FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) removed the mandatory £100 contactless limit on 19 March 2026. Banks and payment providers can now set their own limits.
• According to UK Finance, the £100 limit still applied to most cards at the time of writing, so that is the figure most shops see at the till.
• The customer’s card issuer sets the limit on their card. It is not something your shop sets.
• Cards also keep a running total. Customers are asked for a PIN once their contactless spending adds up to a set amount, currently capped at £300.
• Card takings do not usually arrive instantly. Your payments provider pays them into your business account in batches.

What is the contactless limit in the UK?

There is no longer one national contactless limit. The rule that capped a single contactless card payment at £100 was removed on 19 March 2026. Banks and payment providers can now set their own limits, provided they meet the FCA’s expectations on fraud controls.

According to UK Finance in March 2026, the £100 single transaction limit still applied to most cards, so in most shops that is still the figure you will see at the till. The FCA announced the change in December 2025. It has said that firms which change their limits will need to tell customers clearly.

UK Finance has also said that card terminals and the industry rules behind them would need updating before payments above £100 could go through. That work sits with terminal providers and the card schemes rather than with individual shops.

For most shops, nothing changes at the till. Your terminal keeps working as it did, and the customer’s card decides what happens on each tap. Individual banks can set different limits, though, so what a customer can tap for depends on their own card and bank.

This was the position in August 2026. Contactless limits can change, so check the UK Finance page for the current position before you rely on a figure.

Who sets the contactless limit, your shop or the customer’s bank?

The limit on each card is set by the customer’s card issuer, not by your shop. Terminal settings are controlled by your payments provider, so ask them about anything to do with how your machine handles contactless. Two customers in the same queue can have different limits on their cards.

If the amount is over their limit, the terminal will usually ask them to insert the card and enter a PIN. They can also pay with a mobile wallet. It helps to tell staff this, so nobody assumes the card machine has a fault.

Why do some customers get asked for a PIN?

Cards keep a running total as well as a single payment limit. Once contactless spending adds up to a set amount since the last PIN, the next payment asks for one. That amount is capped at £300, according to UK Finance in March 2026.

This is usually a security step rather than a fault with your terminal. The customer enters their PIN once and the count starts again. Some cards ask sooner than others. If a customer is unsure why they were asked, it is a question for their bank rather than for your shop.

Is there a limit on Apple Pay and Google Pay?

Mobile wallet payments work differently. They are not covered by the £100 limit, because the phone checks the customer’s identity with a fingerprint or a face scan on every payment.

In practice, a customer paying by phone can often spend more in one tap than the same customer paying with a plastic card. That matters if you sell higher value items, such as furniture, bikes or jewellery. The amount still depends on the customer’s bank and their phone settings, so it varies from customer to customer.

What do you need to take card payments in a shop?

Four things usually need to be in place before your first card sale. The table below sets out what each one does.

That is the general shape of it, and the detail varies. Providers charge for processing payments, usually a share of each sale and sometimes a monthly charge as well. Check each provider’s terms before you sign up.

How long do card payments take to reach your account?

Card takings usually do not land in your account sale by sale. Your provider collects the day’s transactions, then pays them in as one amount. Your card provider agreement will include the timing.

It helps to think of it as two separate steps.

• Authorisation. The customer taps. Their bank checks the funds and approves the sale. The money is set aside but has not moved yet.
• Settlement and payout. Settlement is the step where the money moves from the customer’s bank to your provider. Your provider then pays it into your business account, usually as a single daily batch.

Several things affect when that batch arrives.

There is no single industry rule on payout timings. Your provider’s terms, and the dashboard it gives you, are where to check your own schedule and see which sales are in each payout.

That gap matters. If you pay suppliers on delivery but your card takings arrive two or three days later, you can have a strong week and still run short of cash. Tracking expected payouts against your outgoings helps you spot that gap early.

Taking card payments with a Zempler Bank business account

Your takings need somewhere to land. You can apply for a Zempler Bank business current account online in minutes. It is open to start-ups and businesses with limited trading history, and eligibility criteria apply. Once approved you get a sort code and account number, so you can give your payments provider the details straight away.

Zempler Bank business customers can also take contactless payments in the Zempler Bank app. The phone acts as the payment terminal, so there is no card reader to buy. Customers pay with a contactless card or a mobile wallet, and the customer’s own card limit applies, so they may be asked for a PIN on higher amounts.

Tap to Pay payouts into your Zempler Bank account are processed automatically, so you do not need to request each payout and the money goes straight into your business account. After your first payout, which takes longer while checks are completed, you should receive the money within three working days. There is no cap on the number of payments you can receive into the account, whichever tier you are on.

Instant payment notifications let you know when a payout lands. Cashflow tracking gives you a view of takings, costs and the seasonal ups and downs that shape a shop’s year, and you can set your own categories to keep card takings separate from cash.

Pots let you move VAT or stock money aside as soon as a payout lands. Integrated accounting links the account to Xero, QuickBooks, Sage and FreeAgent, so a batched payout is easier to match against a day of sales.

Features and current charges are shown on the pricing page.

Next steps

If you are setting up a shop, open the account your takings will land in before you choose how you take payments. If you have not registered your business yet, the Zempler Bank company formation service can register a limited company and open a business account at the same time.