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A man sitting at an outside table with a coffee, taps his card on a card reader held by a waitress

Contactless payments

Make quick and easy purchases without entering your PIN.

  • Quick and easy contactless card payments for purchases of up to £100
  • Pay with your phone, or compatible device, if you have Apple Pay or Google Pay
  • No need to enter your PIN.
Covid 19 help and support

Use your app to set a contactless limit

Your contactless limit is automatically set at £100. If that feels too high, you can use your app to set your own limit or turn contactless payments off altogether.

Don’t have the app?

It’s quickest to change your contactless settings in the app, but if you don’t have it, you can contact us to change them.

How does contactless work?

Use contactless when you see this symbol for payment

Use contactless when you see this symbol

Touch your card on the reader to pay

Touch your card on the reader to pay

The reader confirms your payment.

The reader confirms your payment

When you get a new card, you’ll need to use it with your PIN in a shop, or at a cash machine, to enable contactless payments.

You can make contactless payments wherever you see the contactless symbol, both in the UK and abroad1. We’ll occasionally ask you to enter your PIN, to prove it’s you using the card.

Contactless payments are taken from your account and will show on your bank statement, in Online Banking and in the Barclays app (if you’re registered). You can get a notification when money enters or leaves your account, so you can spot any transactions that don’t look right. You can switch notifications on in the Barclays app2.

Can I change my contactless payment settings?

Your contactless limit is automatically set at £100. If that feels too high, you can use your app to make it lower, or turn contactless payments off altogether.

It’s quickest to change your settings in the app, but if you don’t have it, you can contact us to change them.

Is contactless payment safe?

Our contactless debit cards include the latest advanced security features required by the payment card industry. Payments are covered by the same fraud protection as your Chip and PIN transactions, provided you don’t reveal your card details to anyone else. As an extra precaution, we'll occasionally ask you to enter your PIN to make sure it's you.

If your card is lost or stolen, report it in the Barclays app or Online Banking, or call us as soon as possible on 0800 400 100*. You can also visit a branch to let us know.

Can someone steal my debit card and use its contactless technology to empty my bank account?

If you make several payments in a row, we’ll ask you to enter the card’s PIN. This can help protect your account if your card is stolen, too. No one can spend more than the card’s contactless limit in a single contactless transaction. That limit is automatically set at £100, but you can choose a lower limit in your app. It’s quickest to change your settings in the app, but if you don’t have it, you can contact us to change them.

If your card is lost or stolen, let us know immediately and we'll cancel and replace it for you. If you haven’t acted fraudulently or without reasonable care, you won’t be liable for any fraudulent transactions.

If I carry more than one contactless card, is there a danger I’ll pay with the wrong one?

Card readers reject payment if more than one card comes into range. This means you’d have to separate your cards before making a payment, ensuring it’s with the one you intended to use.

Can fraudsters use contactless technology to obtain my card details?

There is a very small risk this could happen. The information sent by the chip in a contactless card only includes the card number and expiry date, so not enough to do any harm. Security information, such as the 3-digit security code on the back of a card and your PIN, isn’t sent.

Contactless payment is quick , just touch your card on the reader

Quick

You don’t need to enter your PIN – just touch your card on the reader.

If you’re registered in Online Banking and the Barclays app contactless payments appear on your bank statement

Easy

Contactless payments appear on your bank statement, in Online Banking and the Barclays app if you’re registered.

Contactless payments are processed using secure Visa technology

Secure

Payments are processed using the same secure Visa technology we use to process Chip and PIN payments.

About our debit cards

A Barclays Visa Debit card being inserted into a card reader at a restaurant

Debit cards

Make payments where and when you want

Use contactless for convenience and the Barclays app to securely control how your card is used.

Important information

  1. Retailer limits may apply.Return to reference

  2. You need to be 11 or over to use the app. T&Cs apply.Return to reference