Contactless cards and authorisation

2017dh

Hi everyone, would be grateful for any advice you can offer- do contactless cards check your bank balance before authorising payment? I'm with Natwest.
I ask as i have a few debits on my account via contactless, but at a time when that account had no funds- so how could they have gone through?! A whole other question is of course where they came form but, for now, does anyone know whether a natwest allows contactless transactions even if your account doesn't have the funds? Thank you.

JuicyJesus

For transactions under £15, for most contactless cards, with all banks, authorisation isn't made.


Some contactless cards always authorise online but they're not especially common.

mt99

Contactless (in that you touch the card against the terminal and payment is made) are never 'authorised' - that is why they are so quick. No contact is made with the bank - the transactions are simply batched up and sent to the banks on a regular basis (overnight?).

grumbler

mt99 wrote: »

Contactless (in that you touch the card against the terminal and payment is made) are never 'authorised' - that is why they are so quick. No contact is made with the bank - the transactions are simply batched up and sent to the banks on a regular basis (overnight?).

http://www.theukcardsassociation.org.uk/wm_documents/UK%20Cards%20Guide%20for%20Retailers%20Contactless%20FINAL.pdf

Some contactless card transactions will require online authorisation; ...

pmjenkins

mt99 wrote: »

Contactless (in that you touch the card against the terminal and payment is made) are never 'authorised' - that is why they are so quick. No contact is made with the bank - the transactions are simply batched up and sent to the banks on a regular basis (overnight?).

Not true.

Many of my TSB contactless debit card payments appeared as pending transactions the same day only to disappear after the transactions were processed overnight.

fabsaver

The last couple of times I've used my TSB contactless card there was a definite delay after I had touched the card on the reader. I think it actually said something like 'waiting for authorisation' on the screen. Both amounts were over £15. I've haven't noticed this happen on any smaller transactions.

JuicyJesus

fabsaver wrote: »

The last couple of times I've used my TSB contactless card there was a definite delay after I had touched the card on the reader. I think it actually said something like 'waiting for authorisation' on the screen. Both amounts were over £15. I've haven't noticed this happen on any smaller transactions.

That's because all contactless transactions over £15 now seek authorisation.

molerat

JuicyJesus wrote: »

That's because all contactless transactions over £15 now seek authorisation.

I don't think that is correct, most do but the £25.50 I spent in Tesco this morning is not pending on my TSB CC.

MyOnlyPost

A few years ago when I workd in retail, before the advent of contactless, shop floor limits were different for different shops. I don't know if these limits were set by shops or imposed by banks or if that system is even still active as I've been out 5 years plus

JuicyJesus

MyOnlyPost wrote: »

A few years ago when I workd in retail, before the advent of contactless, shop floor limits were different for different shops. I don't know if these limits were set by shops or imposed by banks or if that system is even still active as I've been out 5 years plus

It depended/depends on the shop's policy, the sector they're in and their particular risk. So realistically it can be imposed by either.

Jlawson118

I tried this out the other week with my Halifax account. There was absolutely nothing in the account and I attempted to pay for something with Apple Pay and I was straight up rejected. So it does check your balance first