Mechanics Bank has issued a new debit card with contactless or “tap and go” payment technology. Also featuring the familiar magnetic stripe and chip, the bank’s Visa-branded card provides greater convenience, letting customers tap, insert or swipe their card at the checkout terminal.
Common in Europe and other parts of the world for years, card-based contactless payment is relatively new in the Unites States. Now, however, 84 of the top 100 U.S. merchants are now enabled for it, according to Visa.
Paying with the card’s contactless feature is simple and secure. When tapping the card near a terminal’s contactless symbol, Near Field Communication (NFC) technology securely transmits: the account number; expiration date; and a unique, one-time code that encrypts the payment information to protect against fraud.
Additional safeguards include Visa’s Zero Liability policy1, which protects cardholders from being responsible for unauthorized purchases – including those made online.
1 Visa’s Zero Liability policy covers U.S.-issued cards only and does not apply to ATM transactions, PIN transactions not processed by Visa or certain commercial card transactions. Cardholder must notify card issuer promptly of any unauthorized use. Consult issuer for additional details or visit www.visa.com/security.