WASHINGTON—With consumers worried about touching surfaces during the coronavirus pandemic, the use of mobile payments and contactless credit or debit cards has significantly increased in the past few months, according to research released by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Forrester.
The study found 67% of retailers surveyed now accept some form of no-touch payment. That includes 58% that accept contactless cards that can be waved past a card reader or tapped on the reader, up from 40% last year, and 56% that take digital wallet payments on mobile phones, up from 44%, the NRF said.
Analysts have stated the slow adoption of NFC payments in recent years has been due in part to stores not enabling their POS devices for tap and go.