Bank Payments: How Does Contactless Payment Work? More
"Contactless Plus," a new feature that allows users to make contactless payments regardless of the purchase amount, is currently being rolled out in France.
This innovation marks a significant advance in the field of electronic payments. But how does this new technology work? Does it pose any risks? And when will it become widely adopted?
Contactless Plus payments represent a major breakthrough in the field of electronic payments. Although widespread adoption will take time, this new feature promises to simplify everyday transactions while maintaining a high level of security. Merchants and consumers will need to adapt to this new technology, but the benefits it offers seem to more than offset the effort required to implement it.
Contactless Plus allows you to make contactless payments, even for amounts over 50 euros. Until now, only payments of 50 euros or less could be made contactlessly. For amounts above that, you had to insert the card into the terminal and enter your 4-digit PIN to authorize the payment.
With Sans Contact Plus, this step is no longer necessary.
However, the 50-euro limit remains in place, as it is stipulated in the regulations. In summary, for amounts up to 50 euros, it’s still possible to pay contactless without entering a PIN. For amounts above that, contactless payment is possible, but only if you enter your PIN to authenticate the transaction, as shown in this tutorial for merchants published by the French CB acceptance network.
Bank Cards: The End of the 50-Euro Limit for Contactless Payments
Contrary to popular belief, contactless payments with bank cards do not pose any particular risk. Its fraud rate—that is, the amount stolen relative to the total amount paid—is very low (11 euros stolen for every 100,000 euros paid) and is the same as that for payments made by inserting the card.
From this perspective, the introduction of Sans Contact Plus payments doesn't change anything: for amounts over 50 euros, the 4-digit PIN you usually use will be required to secure the payment.
Will it still be necessary to insert your card sometimes?
Yes. Contactless Plus payments are necessarily “online” payments—in other words, they involve communication between the payment terminal and your bank. When this communication is impossible (due to a system failure or lack of a telecom network), the payment will fail. However, there is a workaround: insert your card and pay in offline mode, within the limits of the offline payment “limit” set by your bank.
When will we be able to use Sans Contact Plus?
The new feature, which has been tested by Parisian taxis since 2022, began a large-scale rollout in early 2024. Its widespread adoption, however, will take some time. To offer Sans Contact Plus, merchants must update their payment terminals. However, depending on the type of terminal and the service plan, this update is not always automatic, which could slow down the rollout.
According to Loÿs Moulin, director of development for the French CB acceptance network, approximately 15% of independent retailers currently accept Sans Contact Plus. CB aims to reach 40% of independent retailers and 20% of large retailers by the end of 2024, between 50% and 60% of all retailers by the end of 2025, and 80% by the end of 2026.
