To help limit the potential spread of germs, the card brands have increased the limit for contactless payments to $250.
Effective April 9, 2020, Visa, Mastercard, and Amex have confirmed that customers can now pay for purchases up to $250 by tapping their cards near the terminal. The limit was increased to help limit the number of things customers need to touch at retail stores when completing essential shopping. Previous to this update, the typical limit for contactless payments was $100. The increase applies only to Canadian customers and does not extend to Interac at this time.
Below are the instructions for how to enable the update on your specific terminal:
- Poynt Terminals: The updates will be made automatically as long as your device is connected to Wifi
- Ingenico TETRA and Telium Terminals: A download is required to complete the update, you can complete the download by following the instructions for your specific terminal located here. If your customer's issuing bank does not support the new limit they will be prompted to insert their credit card and enter their PIN to complete the transaction.