Time to embrace contactless payments: Amid COVID, digital payments boom due to these reasons

Neo banking is an online concept where there are no physical branches of a bank and customers transact all services digitally.

As communities begin to slowly reopen, business/shop owners and the consumers they serve will be entering a new normal, navigating the new territories, living with precautions. During these times, consumers have also started to rethink their mode of payment, they need something quick, safe and one that minimizes physical contact. Understandably therefore, contactless cards and other forms of digital payments have emerged as the fastest growing mode of payments.

Contactless payments are clean and hygienic as you do away with exchange of physical currency, it is simple and fast as you can simply tap your card on the card machine, and you are ready to go. While Contactless payments have been seeing a steady growth and have grown 15x in the country over the last 18 to 20 months, many are still concerned about the safety of their usage. There are however multiple layers of controls that make these payments as safe, if not safer than other modes.

Accidental and double payments is a misconception

Another misconception with contactless cards is consumers will be billed twice, if the card is tapped again. However, there is nothing to fear because even if the card is being tapped again and again, the reader will not connect, and the transaction will only go through once. On the off chance you do get billed for something dodgy, the cardholder should report the issue to the bank within 24 hours and the bank can take necessary action to reverse the transaction. If you spot any charge you did not make, contact your bank, and ask for information about how you are covered against this. However, in the incident of a missing or a stolen contactless card, the card issuing bank needs to be immediately notified to stop all future transactions through the stolen card.

Take control of your card

Contactless payments offer a secure and convenient way for consumers to transact swiftly. The contactless-enabled card never leaves the hands of the consumer while making payments. This makes it much safer as the sensitive payment account information found on payment cards, such as the 16-digit account number, expiration date and the CVV code remain more protected. It offers more power to a consumer as the control lies with them.

In case you were still wondering how to make a contactless payment, all you need to do is tap the payment card near a point-of-sale terminal equipped with the technology. However, do look for the contactless symbol on the terminal. When the system accepts the tap, it signals the customer with a beep, green light, or checkmark. Once the approval is received, the transaction is complete. There has been significant growth in adoption of contactless payments both globally and in India because it is this easy. People will realise that it’s the best method, not only because of hygiene factor but also because of the greater convenience that comes along with it. It speeds up transactions by eliminating the need for a customer to enter a PIN. India’s payments system will also likely benefit from the uptake of contactless and digital payments in the post-COVID-19 world. And once consumers become clearer about the benefits, we bet the ease and safety features of the contactless card will make the consumer say, “Lets tap and Go”!

• Sujay Vasudevan is Vice President, Cyber & Intelligence Solutions, South Asia, Mastercard. Views expressed are the author’s own.