Contactless payment limit to double as of July

ANKARA

The Turkish banking regulator has decreed that the threshold for contactless payments will be raised by 100 percent to 1,500 Turkish Liras as of July 1.

The Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK) apprised the banks of this development in April, with the expectation that this escalation of the limit for password-free credit card transactions, a decision made after a two-year interval, will provide enhanced convenience to millions of users.

The advent of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 precipitated a surge in contactless payment methods, as consumer concerns regarding hygiene heightened the demand for secure payment modalities.

According to the data by the Interbank Card Center, the total amount of payments made with credit cards, debit cards and prepaid cards in May increased by 103 percent compared to the same month last year, reaching 1.2 trillion liras. Contactless payment amounts increased by 137 percent compared the last year.

The Interbank Card Center was established as a legal entity in 1990 for the purpose of finding a solution to common problems regarding card payments and developing rules and standards for debit and credit cards in Türkiye.