Back in April of last year, Mastercard and Visa raised their tap limits from $100 to $250. The objective was to help people minimize the number of times they touched POS machines, in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. We imagine that, even without COVID-19, the majority of consumers would still love to be able to pay for their purchases in this very easy way.
Tap payments, as you’re surely aware, is exactly what it sounds like. Today, shoppers are able to simply tap their credit and debit cards on POS terminals in order to complete their transactions. As mentioned, for purchases that are $250 or less, this option is available. Canadians seem to love it!
76 percent of Canadians prefer contactless payments.
On iPhoneInCanada.ca, Usman Qureshi reports the findings of a Mastercard study conducted during the summer of 2020. It found that 76 percent of Canadians report that their preferred way to pay for in-store purchases is tap payments. Especially since the COVID-19 pandemic was taking hold on society, at the time, the convenience, safety and cleanliness of tapping made it a desired payment method.
Cleanliness was a major concern in the early stages of the pandemic, and still is. Tap payments eliminate the need to physically punch a PIN code into a POS terminal. Naturally, this prevents several people from touching the same device on any given day. Keeping your hands clean, of course, is an important way of avoiding contracting the virus.
70 percent of Canadians say that tap payments are their first choice.
“For 70% of Canadians, contactless payments are now their first choice whereas 47% are now using contactless payments more than they did before,” reports Qureshi, “The study also found that nearly 80% of Canadians will continue to use contactless payments after the pandemic ends.”
As we mentioned earlier, we can’t imagine that the popularity of tap payments will decline any time soon. In fact, we’re sure that once the pandemic is finally behind us (we hope, sooner than later, of course), consumers will continue to prefer tap payments when shopping. Qureshi notes that, a year ago, during February and March, “contactless transactions grew twice as fast as non-contactless transactions in the grocery and drug store categories.”
The popularity of contactless payments is growing worldwide.
In his report, Qureshi also reveals that Mastercard announced commitments to increase contactless payment limits in more than 50 countries worldwide. “Limit increases were part of Mastercard’s global effort to make sure consumers, merchants and small businesses have the resources to pay safely during the COVID-19 crisis,” he writes.
Blake Rosenthal is the Executive Vice President and Head of Mastercard Acceptance Solutions. “Social distancing does not just concern people’s interactions with each other; it includes contact with publicly shared devices like point of sale terminals and checkout counters,” he is quoted as saying, “Contactless offers consumers a safer, cleaner way to pay, speed at checkout, and more control over physical proximity at this critical time.”
Do you allow for tap payments in your store?
At Unity Payments, we believe that the easiest and most convenient way for merchants to accept credit and debit cards is with the Poynt Smart Terminal. To learn more, please don’t hesitate to call us at 1-800-661-3761. You may also email us at info@unitypayments.ca.
