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Bankrate has partnerships with issuers including, but not limited to, American Express, Bank of America, Capital One, Chase, Citi and Discover. SHARE: Syda Productions/Shutterstock.com May 23, 2022 Checkmark Bankrate logo How is this page expert verified? At Bankrate, we take the accuracy of our content seriously. "Expert verified" means that our Financial Review Board thoroughly evaluated the article for accuracy and clarity. The Review Board comprises a panel of financial experts whose objective is to ensure that our content is always objective and balanced. Their reviews hold us accountable for publishing high-quality and trustworthy content. Nicole Dieker has been a full-time freelance writer since 2012—and a personal finance enthusiast since 2004, when she graduated from college and, looking for financial guidance, found a battered copy of Your Money or Your Life at the public library. In addition to writing for Bankrate, her work has appeared on CreditCards.com, Vox, Lifehacker, Popular Science, The Penny Hoarder, The Simple Dollar and NBC News. Dieker spent five years as writer and editor for The Billfold, a personal finance blog where people had honest conversations about money. Dieker also teaches writing, freelancing and publishing classes and works one-on-one with authors as a developmental editor and copyeditor. Cathleen's stories on design, travel and business have appeared in dozens of publications including the Washington Post, Town & Country, Wall Street Journal, Marie Claire, Fodor’s Travel, Departures and The Writer. Bankrate logo The Bankrate promise
At Bankrate we strive to help you make smarter financial decisions. While we adhere to strict editorial integrity, this post may contain references to products from our partners. Here's an explanation for how we make money. The content on this page is accurate as of the posting date; however, some of the offers mentioned may have expired. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. Any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any card issuer. Bankrate logo The Bankrate promise
At Bankrate, we have a mission to demystify the credit cards industry — regardless or where you are in your journey — and make it one you can navigate with confidence. Our team is full of a diverse range of experts from credit card pros to data analysts and, most importantly, people who shop for credit cards just like you. With this combination of expertise and perspectives, we keep close tabs on the credit card industry year-round to: Meet you wherever you are in your credit card journey to guide your information search and help you understand your options. Consistently provide up-to-date, reliable market information so you're well-equipped to make confident decisions. Reduce industry jargon so you get the clearest form of information possible, so you can make the right decision for you. At Bankrate, we focus on the points consumers care about most: rewards, welcome offers and bonuses, APR, and overall customer experience. Any issuers discussed on our site are vetted based on the value they provide to consumers at each of these levels. At each step of the way, we fact-check ourselves to prioritize accuracy so we can continue to be here for your every next. Bankrate logo Editorial integrity
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You have money questions. Bankrate has answers. Our experts have been helping you master your money for over four decades. We continually strive to provide consumers with the expert advice and tools needed to succeed throughout life’s financial journey. Bankrate follows a strict , so you can trust that our content is honest and accurate. Our award-winning editors and reporters create honest and accurate content to help you make the right financial decisions. The content created by our editorial staff is objective, factual, and not influenced by our advertisers. We’re transparent about how we are able to bring quality content, competitive rates, and useful tools to you by explaining how we make money. Bankrate.com is an independent, advertising-supported publisher and comparison service. We are compensated in exchange for placement of sponsored products and, services, or by you clicking on certain links posted on our site. Therefore, this compensation may impact how, where and in what order products appear within listing categories. Other factors, such as our own proprietary website rules and whether a product is offered in your area or at your self-selected credit score range can also impact how and where products appear on this site. While we strive to provide a wide range offers, Bankrate does not include information about every financial or credit product or service. Contactless credit cards allow you to make credit card payments without having to swipe or insert your card into a credit card terminal. Instead, all you have to do is hover your credit card against the credit card reader. Your transaction should process instantly, often without even requiring a signature. Contactless payments are . Visa reported in January that nearly 20 percent of all in-person credit or debit card transactions in the U.S. are now contactless. And it’s likely here to stay, as and consumers become comfortable and familiar with the technology. If you’re making a payment at a credit card terminal that allows contactless transactions or tap-to-pay—and many do these days—all you have to do is hover your card. If you’ve got one of , you’ll earn the same rewards with a contactless payment as you would by swiping your credit card. Many contactless transactions complete in just a few seconds, giving you more time to complete your shopping and get on with your day. Let’s take a look at what exactly a contactless credit card is, how it works and whether or not it is a safe method of payment. What is a contactless credit card
Each contactless card contains both a chip and the ability to use (RFID) and near-field communication (NFC) to communicate with credit card readers. Contactless chip cards can be inserted directly into a credit card terminal, or you can hover the card near the terminal to activate the chip and make your payment over secure radio frequencies. Contactless credit cards are exactly the same as tap-to-pay, although no tapping is necessary in the case of contactless credit cards. If you see a credit card (or credit card terminal) described as “Tap to Pay,” it is referring to contactless credit card technology. Contactless credit cards and tap-to-pay cards also use the same symbol: a series of four curved expanding lines. Look for that icon, which looks a bit like a sideways WiFi icon, on your credit card. That way, you’ll know whether your credit card has contactless capabilities. How to use a contactless credit card
Contactless credit cards are only compatible with point-of-sale systems that have a contactless-enabled terminal. Coming across a payment terminal that allows you to use your contactless credit card is more common today than it was five years ago, but keep an eye out for the WiFi icon on the payment terminal’s screen to make sure the merchant accepts contactless credit cards. Once you come across a merchant that accepts contactless pay, you simply hover your card over the card terminal to begin your payment. You don’t have to physically touch your contactless card to the terminal. Much like your standard transaction, after a few seconds the terminal will prompt you with a completion message of sorts and you can put your card back in your wallet. It is that easy! If you have your credit card loaded on a digital wallet such as or , you can also go this route by . Simply select which card you want to use from your digital wallet and hold your device over the terminal to complete your transaction. What are the benefits of a contactless credit card
Contactless credit cards give you the opportunity to make quick, easy and by tapping your card against a credit card terminal. Many contactless credit card transactions can be completed without having to let go of your credit card or touch the card terminal with your hands—instead, all you have to do is tap your card against the card reader. Plus, tap-to-pay transactions often go more quickly than transactions where you swipe, dip or insert your credit card into a card reader. Additionally, contactless payments significantly reduce contact with the public spaces you would normally touch with your credit card when you insert or swipe your card. And the wear-and-tear on your card that comes with repeated contact from payment terminals diminishes with every contactless payment. Your contactless credit card should last you years. Unfortunately, not all card readers offer contactless technology yet. Even when a card terminal does offer contactless payment, the transaction might not always go through and you might have to swipe or insert your credit card the traditional way. Likewise, if you are hoping to use contactless payment to avoid touching a card terminal completely, be aware that some retailers and card issuers still might require you to use the credit card terminal to sign for your purchase. That said, more credit card terminals are allowing consumers to make contactless payments, fewer contactless transactions require signatures and the tap-to-pay process continues to run more smoothly. Are contactless credit cards safe
Contactless credit cards are just as safe as any other type of credit card. Thanks to the unique way in which the card communicates with the credit card terminal, contactless transactions might even be more secure than standard transactions. Contactless credit card security not only uses tokenization to transform your credit card number into a random series of alphanumeric characters, but also creates a one-time cryptographic code that links your card to the transaction. These two measures make it very difficult to hack or steal information from a contactless credit card. Some people wonder if they could accidentally make payments with their contactless credit card—if you’re behind someone in the checkout lane, for example, could your contactless card suddenly activate and pay for the other person’s groceries? Since contactless credit cards can only communicate with card readers from a distance of two or three inches away, you don’t have to worry about accidentally making any payments. Other people wonder if they need to invest in RFID protection, such as a wallet designed to block RFID frequencies. Not to worry. RFID credit cards already have multiple layers of security built in. And while you can buy an RFID-blocking purse or wallet if you want one, you’re better off using other methods of , such as and signing up for The bottom line
You may already have a contactless chip card in your wallet—a lot of us do, thanks to recent contactless card rollouts. More and more consumers are choosing to make contactless payments, and the combination of speed, ease of use and contactless credit card security has turned tap-to-pay into an extremely popular payment option. SHARE: Nicole Dieker has been a full-time freelance writer since 2012—and a personal finance enthusiast since 2004, when she graduated from college and, looking for financial guidance, found a battered copy of Your Money or Your Life at the public library. In addition to writing for Bankrate, her work has appeared on CreditCards.com, Vox, Lifehacker, Popular Science, The Penny Hoarder, The Simple Dollar and NBC News. Dieker spent five years as writer and editor for The Billfold, a personal finance blog where people had honest conversations about money. Dieker also teaches writing, freelancing and publishing classes and works one-on-one with authors as a developmental editor and copyeditor. Cathleen's stories on design, travel and business have appeared in dozens of publications including the Washington Post, Town & Country, Wall Street Journal, Marie Claire, Fodor’s Travel, Departures and The Writer. Related Articles