In card present payments, card schemes require cardholder verification methods (CVMs) to authenticate that the customer holding the card is who they say they are, for example prompting for a signature or requiring the customer to key in their personal identification number (PIN). However, across Europe, purchases under specific amounts – usually 25 or 30 euros – don’t require the use of PINs for every transaction in order to ease friction and create smoother terminal transactions.
Due to the unfolding Coronavirus crisis, Visa and Mastercard have increased the limits for their CVM services for card present transactions. These new, higher limits allow merchants to process transactions of higher value without requiring a PIN or a signature, thereby minimising customers contact with the terminals.
Below is the most updated list for CVM limits. As the situation unfolds, Visa and Mastercard will continually update these requirements, so we recommend periodically checking this post for the most information and updating your terminals to reflect these updates.
Country |
Amount |
Scheme and Effective Date |
Armenia | AMD 2,000 | Mastercard 9 April 2020 |
Austria | EUR 50 | Visa 13 April 2020 Mastercard 13 April 2020 |
Azerbaijan | AZN 100 | Mastercard 27 August 2020 |
Bulgaria | BGN 100 | Visa 27 March 2020 Mastercard 9 April 2020 |
Belgium | EUR 50 | Visa 15 April 2020 Mastercard 14 April 2020 |
Channel Islands | GBP 45 | Visa 28 May 2020 |
Croatia | HRK 350 | Visa 21 April 2020 Mastercard 9 April 2020 |
Cyprus | EUR 50 | Visa 27 March 2020 Mastercard 9 April 2020 |
Estonia | EUR 50 | Visa 24 March 2020 Mastercard 9 April 2020 |
France | EUR 50 | Mastercard 24 April 2020 |
Germany | EUR 50 | Mastercard 9 April 2020 |
Gibraltar | GBP 45 | Mastercard 9 April 2020 Visa 28 May 2020 |
Greece | EUR 50 | Visa 23 March 2020 Mastercard 1 April 2020 |
Greenland | DKK 350 | Mastercard 9 April 2020 |
Hungary | HUF 15,000 | Mastercard 9 April 2020 |
Iceland | ISK 7,500 | Visa 6 April 2020 |
Ireland | EUR 50 | Visa 23 March 2020 Mastercard 25 March 2020 |
Island of Man | GBP 45 | Visa 28 May 2020 |
Kazakhstan | KZH 25,000 | Mastercard 1 June 2020 |
Latvia | EUR 50 | Visa 24 March 2020 Mastercard 9 April 2020 |
Liechtenstein | CHF 80 | Visa 16 April 2020 Mastercard 16 April 2020 |
Lithuania | EUR 50 | Visa 25 March 2020 Mastercard 9 April 2020 |
Luxembourg | EUR 50 | Mastercard 9 April 2020 |
Macedonia | MKD 2,500 | Mastercard 9 April 2020 |
Malta | EUR 50 | Visa 23 March 2020 Mastercard 9 April 2020 |
Monaco | EUR 50 | Mastercard 24 April 2020 |
Netherlands | EUR 50 | Visa 23 March 2020 Mastercard 9 April 2020 |
Norway | NOK 400 | Visa 31 March 2020 |
Poland | PLN 100 | Visa 19 March 2020 Mastercard 20 March 2020 |
Portugal | EUR 50 | Visa 23 March 2020 Mastercard 25 March 2020 |
Romania | RON 200 | Mastercard 9 April 2020 |
Spain | EUR 50 | Visa 23 March 2020 Mastercard 9 April 2020 |
Slovakia | EUR 50 | Visa 15 April 2020 Mastercard 23 April 2020 |
Sweden | SEK 400 | Mastercard 9 April 2020 |
Switzerland | CHF 80 | Visa 16 April 2020 Mastercard 14 April 2020 |
Turkey | TRY 250 | Visa 23 March 2020 Mastercard 1 April 2020 |
United Kingdom | GBP 45 | Visa 1 April 2020 Mastercard 1 April 2020 |
Should you have any questions on these requirements or any other queries related to your payments, please contact your Account Manager or email support@credorax.com.