Widely used by the French, contactless payment is now no longer limited to 50 euros.
This was expected by the French, a large majority of whom (86%) use it: contactless payment is now no longer limited to 50 euros. Until now, this was the limit for paying without inserting your credit card into the terminal. A limitation which reassured customers even though it had already increased from 30 to 50 euros during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The main worry is obviously having your card stolen or hacked. So should we be wary? In reality, safeguards exist: the new “Contactless Plus” function which offers unlimited payment will still require entering your PIN code for amounts over 50 euros.
In the same way, contactless payment, including for small amounts, requires you to insert your card every 5 payments and validate your code, to avoid fraud.
Few frauds
Fraud, in fact, remains low in number, as recalled in the latest report from the Observatory for the Security of Payment Methods (OSMP), produced by the Banque de France. Contactless payment fraud only accounts for 0.01% of total transactions.
Of course, it is theoretically possible to stick a payment terminal against your bag to try to steal money, but in practice it is very unlikely. “To own a payment terminal that will allow contactless transactions, you must register with a financial institution that will provide the device” recalls the payment company Mastercard. “The efforts that a fraudster would have to make to achieve this are in fact disproportionate to the limited return” judges the company.
There is obviously a risk of theft. For amounts of less than 50 euros, the amounts are necessarily reimbursed by your card bank as long as your confidential code has not been used.
Larger amounts, on the other hand, involve the use of this code. Therefore, you must ensure that you have not been negligent, otherwise the bank could refuse to reimburse you.
Thomas Leroy Journalist BFM Business
