All You Need To Know About Contactless Credit Cards

If you are a credit card user, you might have seen a symbol like WiFi on your credit card, especially if your card is not too old. Many people are aware of the meaning and usage of this symbol and some cardholders don’t even notice it. Have you noticed this symbol on your or someone else’s credit card? If yes, do you know what does it mean? This symbol shows that your card has contactless technology or it can be said that your card is a contactless credit card. Now, if you don’t know what contactless credit cards are, how they work, what are their benefits, we are here to make you understand all these things. Keep reading to know more:

How Do Contactless Credit Cards Work?

Contactless Credit cards are the cards that come with an advanced technology that allows users to make payments even without swiping their card on the card reader that is contactless-enabled. If your card has wifi like symbol then it is a credit card and you can use it to make contactless payments at any merchant outlet. These cards have a chip inserted into them, which emits radio waves that transfer your credit card’s information to the card reader and hence makes your payment successful without any direct physical contact between the card and the swiping machine. This method of payment is way faster than cash or payment through swiping. However, there is a certain maximum limit and you can make contactless payments only up to that limit. This limit is fixed in order to avoid big losses in case any fraudsters try to use your credit card.

Benefits

• The contactless method of payment is very fast so if you are in a real hurry and can’t wait for even a minute to get your payment done, you can use the contactless technology on your credit card. It works almost two times faster than the normal payments that are done using credit cards.
• With repeated physical contact of a credit card with the swiping machine, the magnetic stripe may start getting damaged slowly, but nothing like that happens when you make contactless payments.
• Contactless credit cards have an additional advantage during this Covid pandemic as it is advisable to avoid physical contact with any public surface. So, making contactless payments these times is one of the best ways to pay.
• Having a contactless credit card can be very helpful for those who often travel overseas as it is a very common method of payment in many foreign countries, especially in Europe & Australia.

Also Read:9 Tips on Using Credit Cards Overseas

How To Use Contactless Credit Cards?

To use a contactless credit card for making a purchase, go to the store and ask if contactless payments are accepted there or not. If it is accepted, take out your card, tap on it, bring it close to the contactless-enabled card reader and your payment will be done. Using a contactless credit card is as simple as this and can be very helpful when you need to save time. Just make sure that you use it for purchases that are not worth more than the contactless limit on your credit card and don’t forget to check whether the merchant accepts this method or not, before proceeding with your purchase.

Are Contactless Credit Cards Safe To Use?

Some people think that contactless credit cards can be very unsafe to use as a transaction can be done by itself even without taking the card out from their pocket. But, this is not true. There are very low chances that you will accidentally tap on your card and it will come close to a card reader from your pocket itself. Nowadays banks and credit card companies follow all the necessary steps in order to ensure the security of their credit cards. Contactless credit cards contain different layers with images on different angles (on Hologram) so it is extremely difficult or almost impossible for anyone to copy your card and make transactions through it.

However, if someone steals your card then there is a possibility that a fraudulent transaction can be made using the contactless payment method. But, you need not worry. Just inform the loss of the card to the bank in a timely manner and then your card issuer will be responsible for any unauthorized transactions made on your card. Therefore, it can be said that using a contactless credit card is completely safe as long as you are responsible enough.

Bottom Line

The contactless payment technology is an amazing feature that is provided by credit card issuers as it makes payments very easy and speedy. One of the biggest myths about contactless credit cards is: these are unsafe to use, which is not true. No one can just make a transaction when the card is in your pocket and even if someone steals it, the bank is liable for any loss once you report the loss to them. Still, you need to ensure that you are following all the necessary steps to prevent credit card fraud and not making any mistake unknowingly. In case of any doubts or queries, make sure to ask us in the comment section below. Team Cardinsider is always there to help you!