For those not aware of the US’ development into contactless payments, you might be incredibly surprised to know that “tap and go” credit/debit cards are still not the mainstream. In fact, countries like the UK, Australia, Canada and China have been offering this form of payment for years. An event in New York’s Union Square, led by Visa and Chase, has demonstrated several tap-to-pay transit terminals as a way of introducing the new technology to US customers.
How will this change the US economy?
US banks and financial institutions are expecting the introduction of contactless cards to bring about a massive structural adjustment to US transactions and financial processes. Like what happened in other countries with the technology, the rollout of the new cards will likely change consumer behaviour quite significantly. Transactions will be faster and processed with far greater efficiency!
Is this the first time?
This isn’t the first time the technology has been introduced in the country. Google and Apple have been trying to encourage customers to make the switch to mobile payments for a long time, while contactless cards were first trialled in the US approximately 10 years ago. The problem was conversion rates were so low and retailers refused to accept the payment in a lot of places.
Early trials
New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority will turn to contactless payments on Friday. Likewise, Visa is expecting over 100 million contactless cards to be shipped to US customers by the end of 2019, ensuring that the new payment trend is here to stay.
Kevin has been contributing to multiple news websites since 2015. He started his blog back in 2016 tackling technology and business tips. His passion towards journalism and sharing relevant information with global readers pushed his to take journalism major at Boston University. He is now a full-time contributor to Kev’s Best.