Contactless payments are a way of paying for goods and services without the need of physically swiping your card or handing it to a store clerk at checkout. While the transition to touch-free payments has been slow going for the U.S., more than 51% of Americans are now using contactless payments.
Due to recent health concerns, the overall usage of contactless payments in the country has risen 150% since March 2019. Many merchants are accepting tap-to-go credit card and mobile wallet payments (Apple Pay, Google Pay). So how do contactless payments work and how can you implement touch-free payment options for your business? We’ve cultivated a guide to help you understand and use contactless payment solutions for your business.
What Are Contactless Payments?
Contactless payments are just that—processing transactions without contact. Doing so allows your customer’s the option of submitting payment without their card or device ever leaving their hand.
In the last few months of 2020 alone, credit card issuers like Visa and Mastercard have seen a massive increase in tap-to-pay transactions. Banks have also been slowly moving towards a more contactless payment solution, with 9 out of 10 popular U.S. banks now participating in contactless tap-to-pay. That’s more than 175 million contactless cards in the United States alone.
When Can You Use Contactless Payments?
Most major credit card issuers in the U.S. have already released contactless card technology or they plan to in the very near future. As long as your credit card or debit card has contactless tech built-in, you’ll be able to process contactless transactions with any NFC (Near Field Communication) enabled terminal.
If your credit or debit card doesn’t come with the required technology, you still have the option of uploading your card to a mobile wallet. Here you can easily process payments directly from your smartphone without contact and without having a physical card on hand. Many major brands such as Starbucks also have contactless payment options available with their apps.
Are Contactless Payments a Safe Way to Pay?
Every time a contactless payment is processed a one-time token is sent to the payment terminal. Tokenization only provides limited information from your private accounts in order to process the request. Once the transaction is complete that token cannot be used again. This is the same system that is used when you insert your card’s chip into a card reader.
Using a mobile wallet for contactless payments adds an extra layer of security to your transaction. These contactless payments require additional steps of verifying your request with a PIN, password, fingerprint, or facial recognition before a payment can be made.
Why Are Contactless Payments a Good Option For Business Owners & Customers?
Besides the fact that contactless payments process much faster than traditional payments, businesses that offer more than one payment method often see an influx of revenue. Chip cards and contactless credit cards make it harder for thieves to steal your information compared with magnetic-stripe cards. Mobile payments and contactless cards don’t transmit your name, card number, or three-digit security code.
Contactless payments benefit businesses by providing secure transactions and fewer fraud losses, increased customer satisfaction, and a streamlined payment system that eliminates the number of steps it takes to process a transaction. With contactless payments averaging 2.93 seconds per transaction, this speeds up the checkout process and ramps up sales.
Related Content: How Adding Contactless Payments Can Benefit Your Business
Stax Contactless Payment Solutions
When embedding contactless payments into your business model, finding acceptable payment methods for your needs should be your main priority. Now is the perfect time to optimize your business with the right contactless payment solutions. Having all the tools and features your business needs helps eliminate added costs that result from using multiple payment processing providers.
Learn more about contactless payments and find out how you can quickly start saving with Stax. We will be happy to answer any questions you have and help you leverage the best contactless payment solutions for your business needs.
Contact Stax today for a consultation and to learn more about how contactless payment solutions can help your business transition to a digital business.
