Contactless Payments
With contactless payments you can buy items using your debit or credit card up to a limit of €50 without having to put your card into the card machine and enter the pin number. This limit does not apply when using a digital wallet.
How do contactless payments work?
Most retailers now offer contactless payments, when you are paying for goods or a service, you hold your card up to the card machine to pay. It will usually then beep to let you know that the payment has gone through. This is sometimes called ‘tapping’ your card.
If your card has the below symbol it has the contactless feature. As there is often no charge or a very small charge for making contactless payments, this can be a good way to use your card without paying bank charges. All but one of the banks/providers in Ireland have debit cards with the contactless feature.
Contactless Symbol
When you first receive your debit card you may need to complete a transaction using your pin number in order to activate the contactless feature. For added security, you will occasionally be asked to enter your pin when carrying out a contactless transaction.
You should always ensure that there is enough money in your account to cover a contactless payment as you don’t want your current account to go overdrawn and get charged additional fees.
Always check the amount that is being charged is correct. Don’t give someone else your card to carry out the payment.
Digital wallets
There are certain apps and devices such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, Garmin Pay and Fitbit Pay that allow you to set up a digital wallet, enter your card details and make a contactless payment using your smartphone or wearable device.
It works in a similar way to making a contactless payment but instead of holding your card to the card machine, you hold your phone or device. When making a payment you may need to activate your device by unlocking it or entering a password.
Last updated on 16 November 2022
