MONEY

Why Haven’t You Switched to Contactless Payments Yet?

Your fears are imaginary

Screen shot of Wallet App by author

As I write this, we are still in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. If you’re not thinking about avoiding surfaces others have touched, you certainly should be. Many grocery stores now have signs that say, ‘We accept Apple Pay, Google and Samsung Pay.” They are trying to help you avoid touching that grimy payment terminal.

So why aren’t you using contactless payments? I actually had a conversation about this with my sister just this morning. I learned that neither she nor her son use contactless payments. I gave her a little talking-to on why she should and I’m going to give you the same lecture.

Why and How

First up, although I’m sure you have seen ads saying “Just tap your phone!”, these payments require no contact. Your phone or watch only needs to come near the payment terminal. It does not have to touch it.

It’s quick. It’s quicker than inserting your credit card and waiting to be told to remove it. So why not use it?

“You have an iPhone. We have Android phones.”

Almost everybody has contactless payments. Apple, Samsung, Google. Unless you own something really old or really strange…