also called tap to pay · NFC payment
Paying by tapping a card or phone without inserting it, within scheme limits.
Paying by tapping your card or phone instead of inserting it, up to whatever limit the local scheme sets. It speeds through transit gates and cafe counters abroad. But many places still make you insert the card and enter a PIN after a run of taps, or for larger amounts, which is the chip-and-PIN method contactless sits on top of rather than replaces.
Someone taps through a few days of coffees and metro rides abroad, then gets declined at a shop that wants a PIN after several contactless payments in a row. If they never memorised the PIN for that card, assuming they would only ever tap, they are stuck at the till.
Speeds transit and cafes abroad, but some countries still require PIN after a few taps.
The difference is the whole point, so here is each one in a line.
These are the ways a card proves it is you and undoes a bad charge.
Chip-and-PIN authenticates in person with a chip and number, contactless pays by tapping within a limit, and 3-D Secure is the extra online step many foreign sites demand before accepting a card.
A chargeback is asking your issuer to reverse a transaction after fraud, non-delivery or a billing problem.
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