Contactless is two things
* the same functionality as the chip but wireless operation
* a “no cardholder authentication” transaction limit, which in theory could be at 0.
Even with a plastic card you can use contactless in many places above £30/€30. You just have to enter the PIN after tapping the card. It works like this in Morrisons for a £100 grocery shop. Contactless Tap of plastic card followed by a PIN entry.
Terminals that support this option often support Apple Pay transactions of any amount since the terminal is looking for some additional authentication, in the case of Apple Pay, this is the finger print or device passcode.
Interesting.... whilst I was aware contactless & Pin is common practise in Europe and occasionally USA. I've never seen it implemented in the UK. Great that Morrisons have implemented this way.
Do you know whether this is true for all readers where the contactless symbol is present over £30?
As I've always wondered how confusing this must be to the 'average Joe public'... Ie... contactless symbol showing, but unable to use card.
We have a local Chinese, with a contactless reader that accepts over £30 contactless transactions (I know... a Chinese that accepts card!)...but they've recently put a sticker on it saying 'Up to £30 contactless' lol. I'm assuming that's due to the confusion we have in the UK.
Another example in a local Indian, asking does your reader accept contactless payments above £30. The answer 'No'. Pushing further, 'Does it accept Apple Pay?', the answer 'Yes'... lol.