ApplePay UK: Payment caps to vary by retailer

[spkx]

According to Visa/Mastercard, Apple Pay in the UK will have various caps from £20 up to unlimited depending on the retailer (as opposed to the current £20 cap on NFC card payments)

http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/134205-apple-pay-uk-some-retailers-to-ditch-20-contactless-limit

Is this the same as things work in the US? It seems rather complicated to me, how do you know what the limit of a particular store is? A lot of retail workers seem clueless about contactless as it is even now, let alone Apple Pay, let alone still whether or not their company has a particular limit and what it is.

I'm excited to use Apple Pay come next month (with Natwest) but worry it'll be more hassle than it's worth in some cases

 

[Fried_Gold]

I had no idea there would be such a cap.. If this is the case I couldn't even buy a new xbox game with apple pay? What is the point of this lol.

 

[coldsweat]

According to the BBC News site, ApplePay in the UK will work with any contactless terminal - these have a standard limit of £20 & that will be the same with ApplePay transactions - however the retailers that 'officially' offer ApplePay can set higher limits if they choose to!

 

[perkedel]

Is this the same as things work in the US? It seems rather complicated to me, how do you know what the limit of a particular store is? A lot of retail workers seem clueless about contactless as it is even now, let alone Apple Pay, let alone still whether or not their company has a particular limit and what it is.

There's no limit here in America, at least on my card

 

[spkx]

According to the BBC News site, ApplePay in the UK will work with any contactless terminal - these have a standard limit of £20 & that will be the same with ApplePay transactions - however the retailers that 'officially' offer ApplePay can set higher limits if they choose to!

What's not being made clear is how us users are meant to know which seemingly random and arbitrary rules apply in each shop.

Suppose I want to buy something for £50 and want to use Apply Pay, I need to figure out:

- Does the shop accept NFC payments in general?
- If so, do they officially accept Apple Pay?
- If so, have they set a custom limit or is it the default NFC cap?
- If they've upped the limit, what's the new limit they have set?

Suddenly it's easier just to use Chip & PIN...

 

[tmiw]

Is this the same as things work in the US? It seems rather complicated to me, how do you know what the limit of a particular store is? A lot of retail workers seem clueless about contactless as it is even now, let alone Apple Pay, let alone still whether or not their company has a particular limit and what it is.

It's unlimited in the US but there's hardly any contactless cards anyway. A lot of banks are actually getting rid of theirs, even, though you wouldn't know because they were never promoted.

 

[Gav2k]

Wasn't that long ago America was signing still

 

[tmiw]

Wasn't that long ago America was signing still

Oh we're still going to be signing for years to come. They're saying that only 2/3rds of terminals will be chip enabled by 2020, plus our chip cards won't ask for PIN the vast majority of the time or at all.

 

[Gav2k]

Oh we're still going to be signing for years to come. They're saying that only 2/3rds of terminals will be chip enabled by 2020, plus our chip cards won't ask for PIN the vast majority of the time or at all.

Shocking really

 

[FatherOfTwo]

We already having contact less card payment which is actually on the increase ( much more ahead of the US when Apple Pay was launched and hence why Apple Pay could work in the UK ) So, Apple pay will work with any of these terminals, current limit £20 going up to £40 in October.

So places like Waitrose, BP service station already have these terminals.

Now, I believe that retailers could introduce a more Apple Pay terminal which will exploit the full capability of Apple Pay.

 

[Fried_Gold]

What's not being made clear is how us users are meant to know which seemingly random and arbitrary rules apply in each shop.

Suppose I want to buy something for £50 and want to use Apply Pay, I need to figure out:

- Does the shop accept NFC payments in general?
- If so, do they officially accept Apple Pay?
- If so, have they set a custom limit or is it the default NFC cap?
- If they've upped the limit, what's the new limit they have set?

Suddenly it's easier just to use Chip & PIN...

This is enough to make me bail on Apple Pay lol.

 

[kdarling]

Is this the same as things work in the US?

The major difference right now, is that in the US, if you're over the contactless spending limit, you simply enter a PIN (debit) or signature (credit) on the terminal you tapped and continue on. In other words, you still don't need the actual card.

As I understand it, if you're over the contactless limit in the UK, you have to stop and insert the real card for a regular chip & PIN transaction.

So that requirement could stay the same, or change to be like the US, or it's possible that Apple Pay could get modified to allow inputting the card PIN on the phone, or that merchants accept the EMV on-device user authentication (e.g. TouchID or passcode) flag.

Note also the current requirement to use chip & PIN if more than ~£50 in contactless payments are made in a short period, or after X number of days... just to make sure the right person has the contactless card. No idea how that gets affected.

We'll have to wait for more definitive info.

According to the BBC News site, ApplePay in the UK will work with any contactless terminal - these have a standard limit of £20 & that will be the same with ApplePay transactions -

An interesting fact in the article is that: "Fraud on contactless cards currently accounts for 0.7p in every £100." In other words, 7p per £1000. Contrast that with the bank fee that Apple gets in the US: about £1 per £1000.

The fact that supporting Apple Pay costs a dozen times as much as fraud loss, is one major reason why UK banks had little incentive to meet Apple's initial fee demands.

New regulations also cap EU bank fees for credit card purchases at £3 per £1000. Apple's US request for almost 1/3 of that, is out of line with EU financials.

On the other hand, Apple Pay will likely cause an uptick in small (< £30) purchases. So for the right (small) fee, it might be worth it. (Apparently Barclay's doesn't think so at this point.)

 

[tmiw]

The major difference right now, is that in the US, if you're over the contactless spending limit, you simply enter a PIN (debit) or signature (credit) on the terminal you tapped and continue on. In other words, you still don't need the actual card.

Actually, I've been to a couple of places in the US that do seem to behave a lot differently when Apple Pay's used. All of those places normally ask for signature even for a $2 purchase (whether swiping, inserting or using a normal contactless card) but waive it when I use my Apple Watch.

As I understand it, if you're over the contactless limit in the UK, you have to stop and insert the real card for a regular chip & PIN transaction.

So that requirement could stay the same, or change to be like the US, or it's possible that Apple Pay could get modified to allow inputting the card PIN on the phone, or that merchants accept the EMV on-device user authentication (e.g. TouchID or passcode) flag.

Seems like the latter is the most likely to happen, at least at Apple's retail partners.