Curiosities About Contactless Payment

Contactless payment, which offers consumers and store owners the advantage of fast and easy payments in a secure way, has grown steadily with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the data of the Interbank Card Center (BKM), the number of contactless payment transactions, which was 73 million in February 2020, increased to 204 million in February 2021, an enormous increase of 178%. According to the statistics for the same period, the share of contactless payments in in-store payments increased from 15% to 46%, indicating that consumers are starting to prefer contactless payments more than traditional payment methods. We have prepared a comprehensive contactless payment guide for you to get to know this payment method that will end long checkout lines in physical shopping.

What is Contactless Payment?

Contactless payments are payments made without any contact between payment instruments such as debit and credit cards and smartphones and the POS device. These payment methods, which do not require passwords and PINs, have been developed for faster, easier and more secure transactions than traditional payment methods. Contactless payment is realized with the help of POS device and payment instrument with NFC (Near Field Communication) and RRFID (Radio Frequency Identification ) technologies. These two contactless features can be briefly defined as follows:

NFC (Near Field Communication)

NFC was developed as a wireless connection technology. With this technology, which allows communication between electronic devices compatible with NFC standards at close range, payments can be made at a distance of only 4 cm. With NFC technology available in credit cards, POS devices and smartphones, payments are made without any physical contact between the payment instrument and the POS device.

RRFID (Radio Frequency Identification)

RRFID is a communication method in which objects are individually and automatically recognized using radio frequency. It is based on the principle of completing the payment by reading barcodes and product labels with the help of a developed reader or a one-way frequency reader on virtual POS devices with RRFID technology.

How Contactless Payment Works

The working mechanism of a contactless payment system requires two different wireless communication technologies such as NFT or RRFID. The contactless payment process is completed by using a POS device that supports wireless payment and a payment instrument such as a debit or credit card, smartphone . The details of the contactless payment process can be explained in 3 points as follows:

1. The amount of the expenditure is determined and transferred to the POS device.
2. POS terminals that support contactless payment have a symbol that can be likened in appearance to the “Wi-Fi” logo. The user holds their card or smart device a few centimeters away from the symbol.
3. Within a few seconds, the contactless payment is completed with a confirmation tone and a green light indicating that the payment has taken place.

Contactless Payment Methods

Contactless payment has become increasingly widespread and has found its place in many different sectors. A detail that stands out in this payment method, which has become increasingly widespread with the effect of the pandemic, is the diversity seenin alternative payment methods . Although the use of a POS device for the transaction is a common point, it is possible to diversify contactless payment methods under four headings depending on the payment instrument used:

Debit and Credit Card Payment

Debit and credit cards are the two most widely used instruments for contactless payments. According to BKM data, the proportion of contactless products in total cards increased to 60% in 2020. With the NFC feature added to the cards, these two banking products are used to perform contactless payment transactions by holding them 4 cm away from the POS device. During this process, you do not need to insert your card into your POS device and your transaction is completed in the fastest and safest way.

Digital Wallets

With the development of cloud technology and its widespread use in finance, digital wallets have become a popular payment instrument. Users who transfer their card information to the cloud can install the relevant software on their mobile phones and pay for online payment services as well as physical purchases contactlessly with a digital wallet.

Mobile Wallets

Applications that work through smart devices and wearables can be used for contactless payments. Applications such as Google Pay, Samsung Pay or Apple Pay offer mobile wallet services and turn users’ NFT-enabled items into payment instruments.

Mobile Banking Applications

With the widespread use of mobile banking services and the increasing use of smart phones, consumers can make contactless payments through mobile banking applications. In addition to money transfer methods such as wire transfer, EFT and Swift, mobile banking applications with features such as QR code and UPI can be used to make contactless payments.

Benefits of Contactless Payment

Contactless payment, which stands out as a fast and easy payment method, continues to be preferred more and more with the convenience it provides to businesses and consumers. Contactless payment, which eliminates the payment problems caused by the use of credit cards in physical shopping, eliminates a great loss of time and brings efficiency to businesses. There are basically five advantages of contactless payment, which brings practicality to daily life and reduces contact risks, as can be remembered from Covid-19 days:

1. Contactless payment is more sterile! A significant portion of the bacteria contained in cash invites disease. Remembering that viruses can be transmitted through contact, which is remembered from the coronavirus pandemic period, contactless payment does not require any contact with the other party. Both the card user and the person receiving the payment can avoid being exposed to any risk with this payment method.
2. No need to remember passwords! Even if you forget your password, you can easily make your purchases with your debit and credit card within the contactless payment limits.
3. Payments are faster and safer! The fact that there is no need to exchange cards, no need to insert the card into the POS device, and most importantly, no password entry, enables contactless payments to be made faster.
4. Reduces the risk of fraud! With contactless payment, the transaction is not repeated and your card does not fall into the hands of third parties. You can stay safe by bringing your card closer to your POS device for payment.
5. It encourages the use of credit cards! The practicality of this method, which allows the payment process to be completed in 3 stages, supports the use of credit and debit cards to be more widely preferred in shopping.

Is Contactless Payment Safe?

Contactless payment, which enables payments to be made in seconds, has not yet reached 100% usage due to security concerns of some consumers. This method is not only fast and convenient but also secure. Payment providers have developed additional solutions for contactless payments that provide extra security compared to traditional methods.

The security measure developed to prevent repeat transactions is just one of them. In addition, with this method, you do not have to give your card to third parties and you can prevent possible card information theft. The fact that no one else can access your card or cell phone in any way secures you and your health.

How to Make Contactless Payments?

Contactless payment is completed in a few seconds. Your card does not need to be inserted into a POS device for the payment to take place. With this method, which requires an NFC POS device and payment instrument (debit and credit card, smart device, etc.), payment can be made as follows:

1. The balance of the expenditure is calculated by the operator and directed to the POS device.
2. The customer approaches the section of the POS device designated for contactless payment and waits for a few seconds.
3. The payment is completed when the green lights turn on on the POS device.
4. The customer receives a shopping receipt indicating that the payment has been made and can follow the transaction details on this receipt.

How to Turn Off Your Card’s Contactless Payment Feature

Debit and credit cards do not need to be canceled in order to turn off contactless payment. You can submit your request to close your card to contactless payment through the transaction channels supported by the bank to which your card belongs. You can reach your bank through the following channels and submit your contactless payment closure request:

Bank Branches

You can visit the branch of the bank where you use your card with your ID card and submit your contactless closure request. In order to close your card to contactless payment, you need to prepare a petition using your TR ID number, name and surname, card number and bank customer number, and state in the petition that you want to close your card to contactless payment. You can ensure that your request is processed by filling out the printed petition that you can obtain from your bank branch.

Internet or Mobile Banking Branch

You can turn off contactless payment instantly by logging into your bank’s mobile or internet banking branch. Contactless payment deactivation is usually available in the settings menu of the credit/debit card. You can submit your request to the bank via the relevant menu and follow the realization of your transaction.

Customer Service Contact Line (Telephone Banking Branch)

You can perform the contactless payment switch-off process through your customer representative by contacting your bank’s call center. Dial the phone banking number of your bank and instruct the assistant to “turn off contactless payment“. After the redirection, you can complete your transaction by sending your instruction to the call center representative.

How to Increase Contactless Payment Limit?

As it will be remembered, the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BRSA) increased the limit for contactless payments to be made without the obligation to enter a password in card payments during the pandemic period to 350 TL. The BRSA increased this limit to 500 TL on February 1, 2022. After the decision, consumers will be able to make payments quickly and practically without entering a password in contactless payments up to 500 TL. Although the BRSA has raised the limit, encrypted payment limits may be lower in some banks’ credit cards because consumers do not make requests. In such cases, you can submit your request through the following transaction channels of your bank to increase the contactless payment limit:

1. Nearest bank branch
2. Mobile and internet banking service
3. Customer service hotline
4. SMS banking service