Visa Increases Tap Payment Limit to $250 in Canada Due to COVID-19 Pandemic [u]

Visa tap limit increase canada $250

Visa has informed its business customers today it has increased its tap payment limit in Canada to $250, up from $100, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to a document seen by iPhone in Canada, dated April 6, 2020, it says, “effective immediately, Visa has updated the Visa Easy Payment Service (VEPS) program’s contactless maximum transaction amount to 250 CAD.”

Visa says “this update is in response to the COVID-19 pandemic,” adding it has “received an influx of inquiries from clients about reducing cardholder need to make physical contact with POS terminals.”

The company says “issuers are encouraged to review their contactless limits and acquirers are encouraged to review their merchant customers’ POS systems to determine the implications of this change.”

What does this change mean? Those with mobile wallets such as Apple Pay, Google Pay or Samsung Pay can tap their devices when paying for groceries or anything else at amounts of up to $250. It means no longer touching a yucky POS terminal PIN pad for sales over the previous $100 limit.

Last week, Mastercard allowed for the increase of tap payments to $250 in Canada, also due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We’ve reached out to American Express and Interac to find out if similar moves will follow for tap payment limit increases.

Update April 7, 2020: American Express Canada has confirmed to us it has increased its tap limit to $250.

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