How Do I Use a Contactless Card?

4 Min Read | Last updated: August 15, 2023

A person presents a credit card at a cash register, demonstrating the use of contactless payment technology.

This article contains general information and is not intended to provide information that is specific to American Express products and services. Similar products and services offered by different companies will have different features and you should always read about product details before acquiring any financial product.

Discover the convenience of using a contactless credit card for quick and secure transactions. Learn how to tap and pay and embrace the future of touchless payments.

At-A-Glance

Contactless credit cards, digital wallets, and contactless-enabled devices speed up and streamline the checkout process.
Contactless payment options are considered highly secure.
Contactless payments are on the rise in the U.S., with shoppers viewing touch-free options as cleaner alternatives to cash and traditional chip cards.

It’s not your imagination: Everyone from the java fans lining up for cappuccinos at your favorite coffee shop to families ordering burgers at the local fast-food hangout have been using contactless credit cards, smartphones equipped with digital wallets, and contactless-capable devices like tablets, smartwatches, and key fobs, to tap-and-pay – and go on their way.

Contactless credit have caught on because they’re:

Fast — Up to 10 times quicker than other ways of paying in-store.
Convenient — They streamline the checkout process.
Safe — Contactless technology offers additional security features.
Touch-free — They provide a cleaner alternative to cash and card readers at payment terminals.

For all these reasons, more people are using contactless payments and a growing number of retailers are accepting them. Today, nearly 20% of in-person debit or credit card transactions are contactless.¹

Here’s a closer look at how they work.

How to Use a Contactless Credit Card or Digital Wallet

Contactless cards are easy to identify. The front of the credit card shows a small contactless logo resembling a radio wave or a sideways Wi-Fi symbol. The same logo should be visible on retailers’ contactless-capable payment readers.

contactless payment icon

When you’re ready to pay, simply wave or tap the contactless credit card or digital wallet, positioning it one or two inches from the contactless icon on the merchant’s payment reader.² In a few seconds you’ll hear a beep, or see a checkmark or green light on your mobile device, indicating that your transaction is complete. When you use a contactless card for the first time, however, you may be asked to enter your PIN to initialize the contactless capability.

How Contactless Payment Technology Works

Contactless credit cards are equipped with tap-to-pay technology, meaning they have an EMV chip like most modern credit cards plus a contactless chip and a radio-frequency identification (RFID) antenna. So, they’re able to transmit encrypted data with a contactless-enabled reader at the time of purchase. Digital wallets come in devices like smartphones, wearables, and laptops, and are armed with the same near-field-communication (NFC) technology.

Contactless cards will still work if a store doesn’t have contactless capability. You can just dip your card into the card reader and use it as a standard EMV-chip card.

Why Contactless Payments Are Considered Highly Secure

When it comes to credit card security, contactless credit cards offer additional security features compared to their magnetic strip counterparts, partly because they’re encrypted. Contactless credit cards, digital wallets, and contactless-enabled digital devices send an encrypted one-time-only code — or “token” — to the retailer’s reader. That token does not include private information like your name and credit card number. The use of these tokens is why you may have heard the word “tokenization” in connection with contactless payment technology.

The need for the credit card or mobile device to be close to the reader further curtails the potential for bad actors to intercept the payment exchange. In addition, the next time you use your card it will transmit a totally different code — so any intercepted data would be unique to each transaction.

Digital wallets have additional safety precautions. The physical credit card can remain tucked away while you wave your smartphone. Plus, you can protect your digital wallet by setting a strong passcode, and, if the wallet allows it, using facial recognition or a fingerprint scan.³

The Future of Contactless Payments

Experts believe that contactless transactions will continue to grow as widespread adaption increases. According to a study from Juniper Research, the value of contactless payment transactions is projected to reach $10 trillion globally by 2027, up from $4.6 trillion in 2022. It states that investment in the underlying contactless payments ecosystem, including point-of-sale terminals and device-level support will be the key driver of contactless transactions value growth.⁴

The Takeaway

Contactless credit cards and digital wallets are growing in popularity in the U.S. Tap-to-pay technology makes touchless transactions fast, and they’re highly secure thanks to encryption and tokenization. As more retailers install contactless-enabled readers, contactless payments are expected to continue growing.

¹ “Contactless payments surge and approach 1 in 5 in-person card payments,” Bankrate

² “What Is A Contactless Credit Card?,” Forbes Advisor

³ “How to Secure Your Digital Wallet,” McAfee

⁴ “Contactless Payments Transaction Values to Surpass $10 Trillion Globally by 2027; Catalysed by Growing Mobile Payment Adoption,” Juniper Research

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Randi Gollin is a freelance writer, editor, and content strategist who’s covered topics including travel, shopping, and dining for tech and media brands and digital publication.

All Credit Intel content is written by freelance authors and commissioned and paid for by American Express.

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