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What is Contactless?

Contactless is a fast, easy and secure way to pay, for purchases costing £30 and under.

Contactless payments are becoming increasingly common on a range of devices including:

  • Pre-paid, debit, charge and credit cards

  • Stickers

  • Key fobs

  • Wearable devices, such as watches and wristbands

  • Mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets

The underlying technology for all of these contactless payment devices is the same. The contactless device contains an antenna so that when it is touched against a contactless terminal, it securely transmits purchase information to and from the terminal.

You can tell if you have a contactless card if you see the following contactless indicator on the front or back of your card:

 

http://www.theukcardsassociation.org.uk/wm_dynamic/pagecontent/Contactless%20image.jpg

Contactless image

 

As of March 2016, the UK Cards Association statistics showed there are a total of 86.5 m contactless cards in issue in the UK. These cards are split between debit (60.9m) and credit / charge cards (25.6m). This is an increase of 35.6% over the previous year.

 

 

Ian on 20/6/16
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