While there has already been a drastic decline in cash usage over the past few years, the pandemic further accelerated the adoption of cashless, contactless, and digital payment solutions. If we look at the stats, the global contactless payment market size is expected to grow from $10.3 billion in 2020 to $18.0 billion by 2025, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 11.7% during the forecast period.

Some of the main reasons why consumers are switching from cash to contactless payments include low risk of contamination, limited exposure, fast, and efficient process. The demand for contactless payment solutions across the globe can be further attributed to the growing integration of innovative contactless technology in mobile devices and smartphones.

What is Contactless Payment And How Does it Work?

For the uninitiated, a contactless payment simply refers to the process of making a payment by either tapping or waving a contactless device over a reader that accepts the payment. These are also commonly referred to as tap-and-go by most vendors and banks as you don’t have to enter your card PIN. The technology behind this super quick process is a radio-frequency identification (RFID) or near field communication (NFC) that allows a chip on your contactless device to wirelessly communicate with the reader. Since the entire checkout flow is super-fast, it also makes the contactless payment process very secure.

Now, there’s already a slew of pathbreaking contactless payment solutions in the market that tout major benefits and allows the consumers to make quick payments. Most of us are aware of debit, credit cards and mobile phones, as some of the most commonly used contactless payment devices. But there are several other not-so-conventional devices that consumers can use to make payments including fitness trackers, jewellery, smart clothing, watches, wristbands, key fobs, QR codes, and stickers. Given the versatile nature of these payment devices, consumers can use them to make payments at several places including movie theatres, buses, metros, fuel pumps, etc. They come in especially handy in the rural and remote areas of the country where the necessary infrastructure for card terminals is poor.

Indian Companies Gear Up To Bring New Contactless Options To The Market

We’ve already discussed that contactless payment solutions are gaining steam amid the pandemic. Given all the amazing benefits and the rise in demand, many fintech companies and banks are making major strides in terms of coming up with new options to streamline the contactless payment process for Indian consumers. RuPay, for instance, is a card payment network in India that’s known for its debit, credit, and prepaid card offerings. RuPay aims to create seamless contactless experiences for its consumers beyond debit, prepaid and credit cards.

RuPay Contactless brings along features such as RuPay Contactless card, RuPay PoS, and RuPay On-the-Go, a wearable contactless solution.

In addition to the making all purchases hassle-free at RuPay Contactless enabled POS machines, the RuPay contactless card also works with select public transport systems in the country including metros, buses, etc. RuPay has also made it easier for its customers to use smart watches and keychain, that you use on a daily basis to make quick payments. So, consumers can now make payment directly on their wearable with a single tap using RuPay On-the-Go contactless technology. Then, there’s RuPay PoS that allows any approved merchant to download a supported app and instantly turn his/her NFC-enabled smartphone into a payment terminal without incurring extra cost on terminal rent or a one-time charge for the physical hardware. The new contactless solutions in the Indian market won’t just help reduce human-to-human contact but will make contactless payments in India a new way of life for consumers.

Summing it up, contactless cards and payments solutions have quickly become the preferred method of payment for many consumers, especially amid the current unprecedented situation. This sudden surge in demand for contactless digital solutions has pushed companies to step up their efforts in terms of creating contactless experiences for their customers. It’s good to see leading companies in India accelerate the shift to the contactless world with their innovative solutions.