Contactless limits

Your contactless card limits

Your contactless card limit is set to £100 per transaction. This applies to everyone.

For total spending across multiple contactless card payments, your limit depends on your account settings. You may have a default £200 total limit, no default limit at all, or a custom limit you've set yourself.

You can check your limits in the app Limits section.

How we keep your account safe

We run smart checks on every contactless card payment. If we spot activity that looks unusual, such as an unusual pattern of spending or transactions that don't match your normal behaviour, we'll ask you to enter your PIN before the payment goes through. This is our way of making sure it's really you.

You'll also get an instant notification every time a contactless card payment is made on your account. If you see something you don't recognise, you can freeze your card straight away in the app.

How your total contactless spending limit works

Depending on when you joined and your account settings, you may have a total spending limit that applies across multiple contactless card payments in one go. Once you reach that limit, we'll ask you to use Chip and PIN.

If you're not yet on the updated experience, a total limit of £200 applies. Once your contactless card spending reaches £200, we'll ask you to enter your PIN to continue.
If you're part of our updated contactless experience, there's no default total limit applied to your account. We use smart fraud checks instead to decide when to ask for your PIN.
If you've already set your own total limit, it stays exactly as you've set it. Nothing about this will change.

Set your own total contactless card limit

No matter which experience you're on, you can choose to set your own total contactless limit at any time. Some people find this useful for budgeting, or just for extra peace of mind.

To set a limit:

Go to the Limits section
Tap Contactless chip and PIN
Tap Customise contactless limit
Use the slider to choose your limit, up to £1,000
Save your changes — they take effect straight away

You can change or remove this limit at any time. Setting it to £0 turns off contactless payments from your account altogether.

Set a per-payment limit

You can also lower the maximum you spend on a single contactless tap, down from the £100 default.

Go to the Limits section
Tap Contactless single tap limit
Tap Customise contactless limit and use the slider
Save your changes

Limits apply to all Monzo cards in your name

Any limits you set apply to all your Monzo cards, including joint accounts and business accounts. The people you share those accounts with will have their own separate limits.

A note on offline payments

Some payments, like ones made on a plane or with TfL, can still go through even if your contactless limit is set to £0. That's because of the way those companies process payments offline, outside of our systems.

If you're worried about your spending

You can always reduce your limits further, set a total spending limit, or turn contactless off entirely by setting it to £0. If you'd like support managing your finances, you can also reach out to us securely through Share With Us.

Apple & Google Pay payment limits

If you use Apple Pay or Google Pay, nothing will change. You can still pay for transactions without any of these limits. That’s because we're able to verify you using your fingerprint or Face ID, so we can be confident it’s you making the payment.