• FNB reports that 50 percent of all transactions are completed using contactless methods.
• As regards Credit Card and Fusion accounts, less than one percent of transactions are completed by swiping.
• A major driver in the popularity of the solution has been convenience as transactions can be completed within seconds.

The pandemic and ensuing lockdowns brought about a change not only in our day to day lives but our habits as well.

The simply act of swiping or inserting your card into a point of sale machine has become almost antiquated. In fact, to our mind the only time we tend to swipe or insert is when for whatever reason, is when tapping doesn’t work.

As it turns out, contactless payments are now the most popular way of completing a purchase for FNB customers. The bank reports that on Credit Cards and Fusion accounts, swiping now accounts for less than one percent of transactions. Conversely, contactless payments now account for over 60 percent of transactions on those accounts.

Further to this, FNB reports that more than 50 percent of all transactions are now contactless.

“Consumers have shown a strong preference for contactless payments using their contactless-enabled cards or smart devices. One of the key reasons is that contactless payments are more convenient and faster than swiping or inserting your card. They also provide a higher level of security, as they use near-field communication (NFC) technology, which is less vulnerable to fraud than traditional ’contact’ driven payment methods,” head of spend and customer value management at FNB Card, Ashley Saffy, said in a statement.

As Saffy points out, convenience has been a major driver in contactless payments becoming more popular. Payments using this method are completed in seconds compared to the time it takes for a payment to process via swiping or inserting a card. The COVID-19 pandemic also spurred on the popularity of contactless payments as customers opted to avoid physical contact with point of sale devices.

Of course FNB has helped push the popularity of contactless payments by adding support for other digital wallets including Apple Pay, Google Wallet, Samsung Pay, Fitbit Pay, Garmin Pay and Swatch Pay.

Contactless payments are actually rather safe although not entirely immune to fraud. With that having been said, the risk mitigations present in contactless solutions offer a bit more protection than a card or even cash.

If you are concerned about using contactless payments we highly recommend reading over this piece from Thales which outlines the benefits of the solution. Of course, you do still need to be careful not to open yourself up to risk.

Given this rise in contactless payments among FNB customers, we’d be interested to know just how popular the solution is among customers of other banks in the country.