Gone are the days when consumers had to swipe their cards or hand them to your cashier for payment. Thanks to rapidly evolving technology, businesses and consumers can access faster and more secure (and efficient) payment methods. The NFC contactless payment method has proven to be a game-changer for many merchants.
What are NFC contactless payments?
Contactless payments are a secure way of payment that allows the consumers to make payments at a POS terminal by simply tapping or hovering the contactless technology equipped card or device, without requiring to dip or swipe the card for payment. These types of payments are powered through radio-frequency identification (RFID) or near-field communication (NFC).
How does contactless payment technology work?
The transactions take place over specific radio frequencies that enable your customers’ cards, smartphones, or watches to communicate with your credit card reader when the consumers tap or wave their device or wearable over a payment reader at the POS terminal. All they have to do is simply hold their device or wearable near a credit card terminal with NFC contactless technology for a few seconds. This is known as “tapping” as opposed to traditional magstripe credit and debit cards, which are “swiped” and EMV chip cards, which are “dipped.”
Why contactless payment systems are gaining more popularity?
The answer to this question is simple: Contactless payment systems are secure and much faster than other payment options. Below, we have listed three main reasons why both businesses and their customers are opting for contactless payment methods:
1. They’re a cleaner and safer way to pay.
After making a purchase, consumers are usually required to swipe or dip their debit or credit cards in a credit card machine. However, this method requires either touching the machine or handing out the card to a cashier who could dip or swipe the card. In both cases, the card comes in contact with another surface.
Contactless payments allow consumers to use their debit or credit card without contacting any surfaces or strangers. One simply needs to wave the contactless technology-equipped card or linked device over a credit card reader and that’s the end of it!
With a major pandemic that has made customers extremely cautious about touching surfaces, contactless payments seem a pretty good and clean option. A conducted survey of 17,000 consumers in 19 countries found that 82% of the respondents view contactless payments as “the cleaner way to pay.”
2. Swift transactions.
Waiting in a long line at the checkout terminal could be a tedious affair for many consumers. Contactless payments allow for faster transactions without any need to dip, swipe, or enter card details. Now it is only a matter of seconds to complete a transaction by just tapping or waving a card or smart device near your NFC contactless payment-ready terminal.
3. Secure payments.
Contactless payments are actually a lot more secure than magnetic stripe cards (also called swipe cards or magstripe cards). These cards have magnetic strips containing the bank information of the cardholder, which makes them very susceptible to fraudulent activity.
Unlike magstripe cards, contactless payments use technology which encrypts the data associated with a card. Plus, each transaction is uniquely encrypted, making it almost impossible to clone the card, or hack the data associated with it.
In a nutshell.
Contactless payments are swift, secure, and easy. This payment acceptance method is accepted all over the world at major retail stores, restaurant chains, grocery shops, pharmacies, vending machines, and more. Now, it’s your turn to get in on the action!
