4 Reasons Why Contactless Payments Are Taking Over the World

For the past 10 years, we’ve been hearing about how new-generation mobile apps, wallets, tap-to-pay, NFC solutions and even the humble QR code are going to spell the end of the magnetic stripe card as a means of payment. And here we are, in 2021, and we’re finally taking big steps towards a brave new world of contactless payments.

In fact, contactless payments are possibly the hottest trend in the financial services industry right now. Globally, Accenture predicts $7-trillion in consumer spending will shift from cash to cards and digital payments by 2023.

The Deloitte Africa Digital Commerce Survey found that 22-million South African consumers shopped online in 2020, growing to 32-million by 2024. https://16319923ff83137830bb4a8a61c91e67.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html

Mastercard has become the first major payment provider to start phasing out the magnetic stripe on its cards. By 2033, no Mastercard credit and debit cards will have magnetic stripes. In fact, physical cards are steadily being replaced by virtual cards, which are both safer and more secure. Continue reading

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