Contactless cards: A fast, easy, secure way to pay (2024)

By Gina Gallagher | Citizens Contributor

You may have seen it on the commuter train. Or in line at coffee shops like Starbucks. The person in front of you exhibits what might appear as unusual purchasing behavior: Instead of swiping or inserting their card in the merchant payment terminal to make a purchase, they tap it.

While this tapping technology known as contactless cards may be foreign to you, it’s the norm in other parts of the world, and it’s expected to grow here in the United States in the coming years. That’s because contactless cards offer a very valuable benefit: less time in the checkout line. And, even better these days, limited contact when you check out.

Let’s take a closer look at contactless cards to explore how you can tap into this fast, easy, and secure way to pay.

Often referred to as “tap-and-pay,” contactless cards are debit and credit cards equipped with technology that allows you to pay for purchases by tapping your card on a merchant’s card reader. That means there’s no need to swipe or insert a card, enter a PIN, or sign a receipt to make a debit or credit card purchase. In fact, despite the phrase “tap-and-pay,” you don’t even have to tap your card or make physical contact with a merchant terminal at the point of purchase; you can simply hold your card within one to two inches of the contactless symbol on the terminal. Hence the name “contactless cards.”

Contactless cards aren’t really new, though they haven’t yet taken off in the United States. In other parts of the world — such as the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and South Korea — contactless cards are a preferred method of payment. According to a study by American consulting firm A.T. Kearney, 64% of cards issued in the United Kingdom are contactless cards, compared to just 3% in the United States.

That, however, is expected to change as more and more U.S. card issuers are now offering contactless cards. Don't worry if a merchant doesn't have a contactless payment system. Contactless cards are regular debit or credit cards, just with more advanced technology. So you can use them anywhere your specific card's accepted, including online or over the phone.

To make a contactless card purchase you need two things: 1) a debit, credit, or smart card equipped with contactless technology; and 2) a merchant point-of-sale terminal able to accept contactless payments.

Let’s talk first about the card. A contactless credit or debit card looks like most cards: it has your card number and an expiration date on the front, and a three-digit security code on the back. The difference is that it’s equipped with a microchip and antenna which allow it to communicate wirelessly with a merchant terminal via short-range radio frequency. This technology is known as near field communications, or NFC if you want to impress your friends with your tech knowledge.

There’s an easy way to tell if you have a contactless credit card. All you have to do is look at your card. Look for the 3 little lines that look like a WiFi signal that’s sitting on its side.

If you have a contactless card, you have the capability to make a contactless payment. But you do need a merchant with a terminal that utilizes a contactless payment system. While less common in the United States, an increasing number of major retailers, restaurants, grocery stores, gas stations, and transit authorities — including the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in New York — are now using them. To determine if the technology is accepted where you’re checking out, look for the contactless symbol on the terminal or on a sign nearby.

With a contactless card and merchant terminal, you can make purchases in seconds simply by tapping or holding your card over the terminal’s contactless payment symbol. It’s a short-range wireless connection, so you can’t be too far away and still expect it to work. Just hover your card for a second or two and the payment will go through. Quick, easy, and painless. And no touching! If you do accidentally end up tapping twice, don’t worry; you’ll only be charged once.

The quick answer is speed. Contactless transactions don’t require you to enter a PIN, sign a receipt, or wait for your card to be processed in the chip card holder. You can make purchases in seconds. While that might not be a life-changing amount of time, it can make things less hectic.

Think about when you buy your morning coffee and have to balance your work bag on one arm and call into your 9:00 am meeting with the other. Which would be easier — stopping and putting everything down to properly insert your card? Or quickly tapping your card to the merchant terminal?

Security is another benefit of using contactless cards. Contactless cards offer the same security as your current chip card (the card that requires you to insert your card into the reader versus swipe the magnetic stripe). Every time you make a purchase, a unique token is created which ensures that the information on your card (your credit card number, name, and security code) is not transmitted. This is in contrast to purchases you make by swiping the magnetic stripe of your card, which transmits all of your card information — including your card number, expiration, and security code — putting you at greater risk of having your card information compromised.

While contactless cards usage is increasing in the U.S. and around the world, you aren’t required to make contactless purchases if you have a contactless card. The contactless capability is an added feature, which means you still have the opportunity to insert your card into a card terminal if the merchant does not offer contactless payment capability. And even if the merchant does offer the technology, you’ll always have the option to insert your card into the terminal, though tapping it is much faster. It’s your contactless card and your choice!

All new Citizens debit and credit cards are equipped with tap to pay technology. If you have an older card without this payment technology and want to take advantage of a faster way to pay and save time at the checkout line, please call visit your account online to see if you can get your card replaced.

Ready for a new credit card? Click here to learn more about the Citizens contactless card.