Wells Fargo Launches New Contactless Cards
Wells Fargo & Company has recently announced the release of tap-to-pay contactless consumer credit and debit cards. Wells Fargo cardholders are already familiar with the advantages of digital wallets and are involved in paying for purchases and initiating ATM transactions by means of their mobile phones, while tap-to-pay cards are something new.
The first contactless cards appeared in 2007 and allowed people to avoid inserting cards to pay for things or services. Owners of such cards just need to tap the card near the contactless symbol on the merchant’s checkout terminal.
Beverly Anderson, head of Wells Fargo Cards and Retail Services, referring to a Visa study, notes that 78% of U.S. merchants accept the tap-to-pay payment method and this number is supposed to increase in the nearest future. This also applies to major transit systems such as Portland’s TriMet and Chicago CTA which are starting to put contactless payments to use on buses and trains. New York Metropolitan is also going to join them later this year.
Contactless cards greatly simplify and speed up the purchase payment process for both merchants and purchasers. “At Wells Fargo, our goal is to make the payments experience as seamless as possible for our customers, which is why we are so pleased to launch contactless credit cards for simple tap-to-pay checkouts,” Beverly Anderson also stated.
Some of Wells Fargo updated cards with the contactless feature are already in use. Currently consumers are able to apply for new tap-to-pay credit cards. Those who already have a Wells Fargo credit card, will automatically get a contactless one when their current card expires. Contactless debit cards will become available this summer for both new cardmembers and old ones whose cards have to be reissued.
According to the official press release on the Wells Fargo website, the financial services company is also preparing to launch the contactless access to more than 13,000 ATMs all over the country with their debit cards starting this fall.
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