Transaction Trends

Contactless cards just got a major boost for next year. Chase, the leading issuer of credit cards in the United States and a member of the Electronic Transactions Association (ETA), announced today in a press release that it will bring contactless tap-and-go technology to its portfolio of credit cards in 2019. All Chase Visa credit cards, including its popular co-branded cards, will have tap-and-go functionality by the first half of 2019, according to the release.

Partnering with ETA member and global card network Visa, Chase customers will receive new contactless Visa cards on an ongoing basis starting later this year, the release said. Customers will receive new contactless-enabled cards when their cards are up for renewal or when they open a new account. Chase debit cards will offer contactless capability in the second half of next year, the release said.

“Tapping to pay enables a fast, easy and secure way to pay that benefits consumers, merchants, financial institutions, and payments partners. Visa believes the time to evolve the U.S. to a contactless market is now and we are thrilled to be working with Chase to make tapping to pay a reality for millions of Chase Visa cardholders,” said Oliver Jenkyn, Regional President, North America, Visa.

The announcement is a major step towards contactless ubiquity in the United States, and comes after a year of building momentum for the fast and secure payment method. This year, major retailers including Costco and 7-11 began accepting contactless payments from contactless-enabled cards and mobile wallets. A market analysis from A.T. Kearney found that 70 percent of merchant locations in the United States have the necessary hardware to accept contactless card payments, and that 95 percent of new POS terminals shipped this year will include contactless payments capability.

Contactless cards offer a fast, secure payments experience for consumers and merchants. The Electronic Transactions Association (ETA), the voice of the payments technology industry, has been part of the continuing effort to support the growth of contactless payments through its Contactless Task Force. The Contactless Task Force met this year at TRANSACT, the world’s largest payments technology event, as part of its ongoing mission to develop and implement an industry-wide plan that encourages the adoption of contactless payments. The task force includes executive leaders from all relevant segments of the payments technology industry, including all major card networks, payment processors and merchant acquirers, financial institutions, software and tech firms, hardware developers and sales channel organizations.

Check out this Transaction Trending podcast with Liz Ryan, EVP of Wells Fargo Merchant Services and ETA Contactless Task Force co-chair, for more information on contactless payments in the United States.