Two years ago, ThePaymentsReview published an article asking the question “Will contactless payment cards catch on in the United States?” So far, they have not. But if it is up to the major card brands, that will change very soon.
Most Americans are not familiar with contactless cards, which allow the cardholder to “tap-to-pay”, just like tapping a phone to pay. These cards are also called dual-interface cards, since they can still be used like traditional cards, but also have an antenna that can communicate with a point-of-sale terminal without being inserted or swiped; tapping to pay is the second interface.