Apple Pay Confirmed to Have £20 Limit Per Transaction in UK

Apple Pay will be arriving for customers inside of the United Kingdom, backing support from about 250,000 UK merchants, sometime in July. Today, Apple released a support and FAQ page on its website to document the processes and answer the questions that some merchants may have with the impending launch of the service (via 9to5Mac).

apple-pay
Following the confirmation by multiple banks on the matter earlier this month, Apple has confirmed that some retailers and specific out-of-date terminals will hinder customers to a £20 limit on their Apple Pay purchases (which will increase to £30 in September). However, the company does state that merchants with terminals "capable and configured properly" -- and a payment provider that supports the most up to date specifications on contactless payments -- will be able to support larger transaction sums.

Apple Pay allows your customers to make easy and secure contactless payments at any amount. If your payment terminal or payment provider doesn’t support the latest network specifications, as with contactless debit and credit cards today, your customers might need to insert their card if the transaction amount is over £20.

To accept Apple Pay for transactions over £20, your payment terminal must be capable and configured properly, and your payment provider needs to support the latest network contactless specifications.

The process for merchants to support a limit raise may be arduous, however, and as such most retailers will be facing the £20 right out of the gate when the service launches in July. Retailers supporting the "Consumer Device Cardholder Verification Method," another support document updated today, will be able to enable "contactless payments for any amount." Unfortunately, the security-ensured method requires updated terminal software that may see a slow adoption rate to stores around the United Kingdom in the early days of Apple Pay.

The rest of the FAQ page details the expected list of questions about liable fraud charges for merchants, list of payment providers that support Apple Pay in the United Kingdom, and a process detailing return policies for customers using the mobile wallet. Apple also confirmed during WWDC that London-based Apple Pay users will be able to commute and pay for fares on London's Underground with the help of the service. The company also promised that the service will be backed by eight of the "most established banks" in the country when it launches.

Related Roundup: Apple Pay

Popular Stories

maxresdefault

Five Features Coming to AirPods Pro 3

Friday June 27, 2025 10:52 am PDT by
Apple hasn't updated the AirPods Pro since 2022, and the earbuds are due for a refresh. We're counting on a new model this year, and we've seen several hints of new AirPods tucked away in Apple's code. Rumors suggest that Apple has some exciting new features planned that will make it worthwhile to upgrade to the latest model. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Heal...
iPhone Car Key WWDC 2025

Apple Announces 13 Automakers Planning to Offer iPhone Car Keys

Friday June 27, 2025 11:42 am PDT by
In 2020, Apple added a digital car key feature to its Wallet app, allowing users to lock, unlock, and start a compatible vehicle with an iPhone or Apple Watch. The feature is currently offered by select automakers, including Audi, BMW, Hyundai, Kia, Genesis, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, and a handful of others, and it is set to expand further. During its WWDC 2025 keynote, Apple said that 13...
anker power bank recall

PSA: Anker Recalls Multiple Power Banks Due to Fire Risk

Friday June 27, 2025 4:16 pm PDT by
Popular accessory maker Anker this month launched two separate recalls for its power banks, some of which may be a fire risk. The first recall affects Anker PowerCore 10000 Power Banks sold between June 1, 2016 and December 31, 2022 in the United States. Anker says that these power banks have a "potential issue" with the battery inside, which can lead to overheating, melting of plastic...
Chase Sapphire Reserve Apple Perk Feature

Chase Sapphire Reserve Card Introduces New Perk for Apple Customers

Wednesday June 25, 2025 2:08 pm PDT by
Chase this week announced a series of new perks for its premium Sapphire Reserve credit card, and one of them is for a pair of Apple services. Specifically, the credit card now offers complimentary annual subscriptions to Apple TV+ and Apple Music, a value of up to $250 per year. If you are already paying for Apple TV+ and/or Apple Music directly through Apple, those subscriptions will...
iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro Launching in a Few Months With These 12 New Features

Thursday June 26, 2025 2:00 am PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are around three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Apple is expected to launch the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max in September this year. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an...
A18 Pro Chip

New MacBook With A18 Pro Chip Spotted in Apple Code

Monday June 30, 2025 8:05 am PDT by
Apple is developing a MacBook with the A18 Pro chip, according to findings in backend code uncovered by MacRumors. Earlier today, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported that Apple is planning to launch a low-cost MacBook powered by an iPhone chip. The machine is expected to feature a 13-inch display, the A18 Pro chip, and color options that include silver, blue, pink, and yellow. MacRumors...
macbook air spacegray purple

Apple Planning to Launch Low-Cost MacBook Powered By iPhone Chip

Monday June 30, 2025 3:20 am PDT by
Apple is planning to launch a low-cost MacBook powered by an iPhone chip, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. In an article published on X, Kuo explained that the device will feature a 13-inch display and the A18 Pro chip, making it the first Mac powered by an iPhone chip. The A18 Pro chip debuted in the iPhone 16 Pro last year. To date, all Apple silicon Macs have contained M-series...
CarPlay Ultra Climate Controls

Here's Which Vehicle Brands Will and Won't Offer Apple's CarPlay Ultra

Friday June 27, 2025 9:52 am PDT by
Apple last month announced the launch of CarPlay Ultra, the long-awaited next-generation version of its CarPlay software system for vehicles. There was news this week about which automakers will and won't offer CarPlay Ultra, and we have provided an updated list below. CarPlay Ultra is currently limited to newer Aston Martin vehicles in the U.S. and Canada. Fortunately, if you cannot...
apple watch ultra 2 new black

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Finally Coming After Two-Year Hiatus

Tuesday June 24, 2025 3:40 am PDT by
Apple will finally deliver the Apple Watch Ultra 3 sometime this year, according to analyst Jeff Pu of GF Securities Hong Kong (via @jukanlosreve). The analyst expects both the Apple Watch Series 11 and Apple Watch Ultra 3 to arrive this year (likely alongside the new iPhone 17 lineup, if previous launches are anything to go by), according to his latest product roadmap shared with...

Top Rated Comments

johnnyjibbs Avatar
131 months ago
Can anyone tell me, please oh please, where these limitations keep coming from????

I have a US debit card, but live in the Czech Republic my whole life. Since I got my iPhone 6, I have been using Apple Pay at merchants in the Czech Rep, Slovakia, Germany, with no problem. Any store that has a contactless terminal accepts Apple Pay, I really don't understand, and I am genuinely interested to understand where all of this is coming from... Please? Someone?
A bit of history...

Long before Apple Pay was even announced, the UK was a pioneer of so-called contactless technology that allowed small transactions (originally up to £10, then later to £15 and now £20) to be paid for with a tap of any NFC-compatible debit card for conveniently buying a sandwich, coffee or newspaper. This was a quicker and faster way than using chip and pin (which the UK has had for years) and without the hassle of cash.

Gradually, more and more merchants have started using the technology, such as the London Underground, but it is still primarily designed for small payments because it doesn't have the security of entering a pin. Hence the limit is for security reasons.

Fast forward to 2015 and Apple, having very wisely chosen to support an existing standard to increase adoption, are using the existing network and hence have to play by the same rules. As adoption climbs and new versions of the technology (as Apple alludes in the document) can differentiate Apple Pay from other contactless cards then this will change, it will just take time. I would fully expect the official partner retailers to not have such limits, which is the positive I take out of the article.

So the limit is nothing to do with Apple Pay. And it wasn't artificially imposed either, it's just a relic of what got us here in the first place.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Menopause Avatar
131 months ago
£20, so just a bottle of water then.

:p
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bigchrisfgb Avatar
131 months ago
This article is very misleading.
It has confirmed that the limit will not apply if a retailers software is up to date.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MrGimper Avatar
131 months ago
This is hilarious.

Almost like a headline stating "iPhone 6s and iPad Air 3 to only support 16GB of storage"

Then in the article "....if you purchase the 16GB models. The 64GB and 128GB models will support 64GB and 128GB of storage respectively"
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Yellowbean12 Avatar
131 months ago
No I understand that. I don't mean actual restrictions.... I mean these "propaganda'd" restrictions... As I said, I have been using Apple Pay in the Czech Republic for half a year now, regularly. Yet all of "the media" says that it is only supported in the US, and now will be introduced to the UK.... BUT IT'S NOT..... So I'm just curious if someone can explain this to me...
Because you're using a US debit card from a US bank which has signed up to Apple Pay.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Jsameds Avatar
131 months ago
In a nutshell -

The NFC standard for contactless in the UK was written (obviously) before Apple Pay, when the only contactless payments available were not so secure (No verification, literally just a card swipe), and so a limit was placed to reduce the amount of damage a fraudster could do if they stole your contactless card.

Now Apple Pay has come along and is much more secure than previous methods, but sadly still has to abide by the rules written for the not so secure methods.

So - a new standard has been created for Apple Pay and other subsequent secure contactless payments called "Consumer Device Cardholder Verification Method", but unfortunately this will require up to date hardware on the shop's behalf, and also the latest software running on it.

Once the shops have that in place, payments over £20 (£30 in Sept) will be accepted.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)