Contactless (Tap-to-Pay) Credit Cards: How the Limits Work
Updated 29 January 2026
Contactless payment lets you tap a card (or phone with the card added to a wallet) on a terminal instead of inserting and entering a PIN — fast, but capped for security.
The PIN-free limit
Transactions below a set threshold (commonly ₹5,000 in India, though this can change) go through with just a tap, no PIN required. Above that threshold, the terminal will prompt for a PIN regardless of the contactless tap, as an added security check for larger amounts.
Turning it off
If you'd rather not have PIN-free transactions enabled at all — a reasonable choice if the card is ever lost or the physical card is a concern — most issuer apps let you disable contactless payments per card, independent of disabling the card entirely. This doesn't affect chip-and-PIN or online transactions, which use separate controls.