To reduce the possibility of contagion by coronavirus, the Croatian National Bank has issued a recommendation to banks and credit card companies to raise the contactless payment transaction limit without strong customer authentication (PIN) from HRK 100 to HRK 250.

In view of the recommendations issued by the Civil Protection Headquarters of the Republic of Croatia and the Croatian Institute of Public Health on minimising movements and social interaction, the Croatian National Bank expects the banks and credit card companies to raise the contactless payment transaction limit without strong customer authentication to HRK 250.

The coronavirus (COVID-19) is mostly spread through respiratory droplets and indirectly through virus-contaminated hands. It is therefore key to avoid as much as possible touching objects and surfaces that may be exposed to the virus.

The CNB has issued this recommendation in an effort to reduce the spread of the coronavirus, taking into account the fact that the recommended limit would cover the bulk of the citizens' day-to-day payment transactions since the average payment card transaction in the Republic of Croatia stands at approximately HRK 225.

Currently, the limit for contactless electronic payment transactions in the Republic of Croatia is HRK 100, which is much below the maximum permitted EUR 50 (approximately HRK 370).

The recommended measure is particularly important in the light of the fact that contactless cards account for the majority of issued payment cards in the Republic of Croatia and are widely used and well accepted by users, whilst providing a high degree of security.

The implementation of this measure will be a complex and technically demanding process that will include various stakeholders (payment card issuers, payment transaction acquirers, providers of payment transaction processing, card schemes) and require their mutual coordination and cooperation.

The CNB expects all stakeholders to start applying this recommendation as soon as possible, and taking into account the complexity of the process, by 21 April 2020 at the latest.