Most of us tap and pay without thinking twice, but are contactless payments really safe?

Although contactless payments were introduced over 10 years ago, there is still a lot of speculation regarding its level of safety.

“What if my payment goes through twice?”

“If my wallet is near a card reader, will it accept a payment without me even knowing?”

“What if my card gets stolen and someone maxes out my contactless payments?”

These are just a few questions surrounding this subject, below we have covered the most frequently asked.

How do I know if my card is contactless?

You will know if your card is contactless or not as it will have the contactless symbol on it. Similar to a Wi-Fi symbol, it consists of four curved lines facing the right direction.

You can use your contactless card on any payment terminal that has this logo.

Can I accidentally pay for someone else’s shopping by brushing past a contactless terminal?

If you’re paying for an in-store purchase with your contactless card, the card needs to be very close to the terminal (usually less than 2 centimetres away). The terminal also has to be ready to take the payment.

It’s very unlikely that you can accidently pay for someone else’s shopping by just brushing past a terminal. The card would have to touch the card reader and be held in that position for around half a second before the terminal accepts the payment.

What if my card gets lost or stolen and my contactless payments gets maxed out?

Firstly, if your card gets lost or stolen, one of the first things you should do is call your bank and cancel your card. Providing you have informed your bank of this as soon as possible, normally you will not be responsible for any losses suffered (depending on your banks terms and conditions).

Also depending on your bank, there is normally a certain amount of times that you can tap your card on a contactless payment terminal. The maximum amount you can spend in one transaction is £30 or it will ask for Chip and Pin.

Just like normal transactions, your bank is continuously looking out for any unusual transactions, which will work the same for contactless payments.

Is the Payment Ring safe?

The Payment Ring works just the same as a contactless card. It has a chip in in that gets recognised by payment terminals. You have to be very close in the transmission ready position to accept a payment from a terminal.

One of the things that is most attractive about The Payment Ring is that it’s just there on your finger. It’s always ready to use! One of the first things that people say about The Payment Ring, is;

“What if you lose it?”

When you think about it, you have more chance of loosing your actual payment card than your ring. Just like all other pieces of jewellery, they have a place on your body, whereas a payment card doesn’t. A ring can be permanently on you, however a payment card has to either be placed in a purse/wallet, in a pocket, or loosely in a bag.

Take a look at our rings here

See previously: The Payment Ring – What does the Payment Ring do that your Smart Phone or Smart Watch can’t?