Slow Hand Clap For The EU For Fucking Up Contactless Card Payments!

A Brussels crackdown on contactless payments could cause mass confusion for millions of customers and trigger a €57bn (£48bn) hit to businesses across Europe, experts have warned.

The new Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) rules require banks to verify a customer’s identity every time they make payments totalling €100 (£85).

It means that if customers breach this limit through repeated contactless card payments, they will be forced to type their pin into a machine.

There are fears that the changes – which have already been introduced by Britain's biggest banks – will baffle customers, meaning many walk away rather than paying.

A report published by 451 Research that was commissioned by payments company Stripe estimated that €57bn of payments across the European Union will be abandoned as a result of the extra checks.

Card Surcharges To Be Banned

As from January next year, businesses will not be allowed to add any surcharges for card payments.

This follows a directive from the European Union, which bans surcharges on Visa and Mastercard payments.

However, the government has gone further than the directive, by also banning charges on American Express and Paypal too.

This covers all companies and organisations that add a surcharge, including HMRC!

You can bet your bottom dollar that companies will find another way to pass on the charges.