Visa today announced that more than one million terminals in India can accept Visa contactless cards for Tap and PIN payments. This follows the RBI notification in late April to allow contactless card transactions of above ₹2,000 by entering one’s PIN.
During the pandemic, Visa worked with acquirers and payment service providers (PSPs) to enable Tap and PIN transactions on terminals across the country. Consumers can now tap their contactless cards and enter their PIN to authenticate any purchase above ₹2,000. For transactions of below ₹2,000, payments can be made by simply tapping the card. Tap and PIN payments eliminate the need for shoppers to swipe or dip their credit or debit cards at contactless-enabled point of sale (PoS) devices, allowing customers to tap and pay for most transactions.
Commenting on the announcement, Shailesh Paul, Head of Merchant Sales & Solutions, India and South Asia, Visa said, “Contactless payments are fast becoming a preferred way to pay and get paid and are witnessing widespread adoption among merchants and consumers. We are happy to support our partners in enabling Tap and PIN payments at more than one million PoS terminals across the country in a matter of only a few months.
“Globally, we have seen contactless become a proven catalyst in driving consumer stickiness for digital payments using card credentials – a behavioral change that’s here to stay. As tapping to pay ensures that the card doesn’t leave the consumer’s hand, we are confident that this ability to pay securely will motivate millions of users to pay digitally at stores for low as well as high value transactions,” he added.
In recent times, particularly during the pandemic, a significant number of Indian consumers have adopted contactless payments. The simplicity, convenience and security offered by these cards have helped bring more consumers into the ambit of digital payments, as they tap and pay for everyday purchases. In fact, Visa is witnessing a significant increase in contactless payments across the world. In Asia Pacific too, 44% of its transactions including in India, have been contactless in the quarter ending June 2020.
World over, contactless payments have been proven to be successful at building preference for digital payments amongst consumers. The cash conversion opportunity in India is nearly $1 trillion[1], and cash continues to dominate the way payments are made and accepted. In line with the Government of India and the RBI’s efforts to build stickiness for digital payments, Tap and PIN payments are expected to play an important role in driving mass adoption in India.
Visa continues to work with major acquirers such as Axis Bank, Bank of Baroda Financial Services Ltd., Fiserv – ICICI Merchant Services and YES BANK as well as major PSPs including Innoviti, Pine Labs and Worldline to enable Tap and PIN on PoS terminals. Visa is also in the process of rolling out the Tap and PIN solution across merchants with acquirers like HDFC Bank.