ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.–PSCU said it is prepared for the adoption of contactless cards and so far this year has already distributed more than 500,000 such cards to members of 14 of its member-owner credit unions through natural reissuance.
In 2020, PSCU said it is poised to produce more than three-million new contactless plastics and deliver them to more than 100 credit unions to support natural and mass reissuance strategies.
“At PSCU, we strive to ensure that our owner credit unions are at the forefront of the latest payment trends and innovations – and that their members’ accounts are the ones getting used most frequently,” said Jeremiah Lotz, managing vice president, Digital Experience and Payment Products at PSCU, in a statement. “Offering and providing Owners with contactless cards is one of the many ways in which we help our credit unions achieve top-of-wallet status. As contactless card adoption continues to rise in the coming year, we look forward to helping our credit unions and their members make the most of this growth opportunity.”
What Study Found
PSCU noted its second annual Eye on Payments study found, despite the early stages of contactless card issuance by financial institutions, about one-fourth of respondents already have a contactless card and use it at least a few times per month. Of those that have and use a contactless card, convenience, ease/speed of use and security are the primary motivators for doing so, while the primary reason consumers do not use their contactless card is due to lack of acceptance at stores they frequent, the study found.
Moreover, PSCU noted the number of consumers using a contactless payment method is expected to increase as more merchants turn on their Near Field Communication (NFC) technology and begin accepting tap-and-go forms of payments, including cards, wearables and other devices. PSCU cited Visa data showing 95% of terminals shipped are already contactless-enabled and eight out of the top 10 merchants are accepting NFC payments as of October 2019.
‘Be Prepared’
“Credit unions should be prepared to not only offer contactless cards to their members, but also have information readily available to educate members on how to use these new payment methods and ascertain whether a merchant’s point-of-sale terminal is contactless-enabled,” added Lotz.
For more info: pscu.com/contactless.