"Contactless" card: how to use it, what are the risks?

How contactless payment works: definition and principle

Contactless payment allows you to pay with your bank card (or with your smartphone) in a dematerialized manner without having to type your four -digit confidential code on the electronic payment terminal (TPE).This payment method is recent: it was in 2011 that the first payment terminal was approved, its adoption by the population began to become significant from the years 2014 to 2016 (see statistical section).

How it works ?Thanks to NFC (Near Field Communication NFC technology, which means in French "Communication in near field"), itself based on the RFID transmission (Radio Frequency Identification or "Short-range radio waves"), just approach itsBank card 3 or 4 centimeters from the payment terminal to pay for its purchase.

Lights light up on TPE, then a sound "beep" is issued, proving that the financial operation has been carried out.Technically, the bank card has a chip containing the information necessary for the transaction and a miniature antenna which sends by short distance radio waves the data to the terminal, itself equipped with an integrated antenna.NFC technology does not allow money to be removed from an automatic ticket distributor (DAB).

Only bank cards integrating NFC technology can make contactless payment.To recognize them, it's easy: they display a logo in the shape of radio waves.

The amount of the 2022 ceiling of contactless payment

The ceiling amount of a contactless payment in 2022 is set at 50 euros.This ceiling has been unchanged since May 11, 2020, the end of the first confinement set up in France to combat the COVVI-19 epidemic.Holders of a bank card, who already had contactless at 30 euros before May 11, 2020 and who wish to take advantage of the new 50 euros ceiling authorized since that date, must unlock it.This is done either by a payment in a store with a secret code, or via a withdrawal in an automatic distributor.

The previous limit has been at 30 euros since October 1, 2017 (previously, the contactless payment ceiling was set at 20 euros).Not all bank card holders had not benefited from the new ceiling of 30 euros from October 1, 2017. Only the owners of a new contactless bank card created since that date benefited from this new cap.The holder of a contactless card with a ceiling of 20 euros had to wait for the renewal of his card by his bank or make a change of card change.

This new maximum sum of 50 euros applies by payment with a merchant.To make an additional payment or beyond this limit, two possibilities exist:

1. insérer sa carte bancaire et saisir son code confidentiel à quatre chiffres
2. faire un paiement mobile (également possible sans contact dans la limite de 50 euros).

In addition, there is a contactless ceiling of payments which varies according to the banks and whose maximum amount observed is 100 euros.It is not a daily or weekly ceiling, but a consecutive payment ceiling.Only a few banks impose a payments by contactless CB (example: 5 per day at BNP Paribas).

If the limit of 100 euros is reached, the user must make a payment by making up his code to reset his counter of 100 euros.

Increase in the limit of contactless payment to 50 euros since May 11, 2020

The payment ceiling without contact by bank card, fixed until then at 30 euros, has increased to 50 euros on May 11, 2020. The announcement of this new ceiling had been made in mid-April 2020 by the GIE CB bank cards, in accordanceto the recommendation issued on March 25 by the European banking authority in the context of the epidemic of the new coronavirus.

If the decision to note the contactless payment limit of 30 to 50 euros has been acted in mid-April 2020, the deployment was not immediate.Such an operation requires "heavy and delicate computer industrialization and [cannot] be done overnight," the GIE CB bank cards said at the time.In the period leading to 11 May 2020, millions of cards, hundreds of thousands of payment terminals (TPE) and banks' servers had to be the subject of new settings, which requested time.

The card carrier did not need to renew his CB to benefit from this increase.“The increase at 50 euros will not require the renewal of the cards, the possibility of a computer programming having been anticipated during the increase in the ceiling of 20 to 30 euros, but also because the TPEs without contact are all of the latestgenerations and can bear the operation, ”explained a source close to the file.

The previous operation to increase the contactless payment ceiling occurred in October 2017. The limit was then raised from 20 to 30 euros and the carriers had to wait for the renewal of their credit card, sometimes until December 2019, forbenefit from it.

Contactless payment ceiling: limit per day or week?

The contactless payment ceiling is a limit in terms of and not per day (or per week) in most banks.

The contactless payment limit at 50 euros is not a limit per day, but one limit per payment.

Only two banking establishments provide a daily ceiling for contactless transactions, according to our statement of banking practices:

How to get a contactless payment card and how to activate it?

The financial institution generally benefits from the issuance of a payment card to a new customer or the renewal of bank cards arrived at expiration to integrate the functionality.Banks are supposed to inform their customers when they provide a "contactless" card, according to the recommendations of the National Commission for Data Protection (CNIL).Normally, they must also send them an explanatory notice.

According to the group of CB bank cards, more than 80% of the 71 million bank cards in circulation in France made it possible to make a contactless payment at the end of 2019, operated "contactless", or more than 60 million cards.

Important: an withdrawal card does not allow you to pay for purchases from contactless merchants.

Where to use contactless payment?

The "contactless" card can be used:

The health crisis linked to the COVVI-19 epidemic strongly favored the development of contactless payment from the start of 2020. According to the CB bank card group, out of the 11.8 billion transactions made in 2020 inFrance, 4.6 billion was with contactless (as a reminder, the CAP of 2 billion had been crossed in 2018).According to the CB/Kantar barometer, "20% of respondents say that it was during the health crisis that they first used contactless and 93% of regular users they used iteven more frequently ”.

In a previous study, the CB bank card group noted that contactless payment was accepted in 613,000 businesses in 2017. However, this represented only 41% of traders equipped with a bank card payment terminal.

NFC technology is an international standard, contactless payment can be practiced abroad.Payment ceilings can, however, vary from country to country.Whether in France or elsewhere, to find out if a merchant accepts the functionality, it is necessary to check if it has affixed the “contactless payment” logo (a hand holding a bank card on a background of radio waves) on its window and/or on his TPE.

Is contactless payment mandatory?How to refuse it?

The owner of a bank card with NFC technology is in no way obliged to use this feature.He can very well continue to type his confidential code even for purchases of less than 50 euros.The merchant cannot force him to pay without contact, however he can refuse it if his payment terminal is not compatible (or not configured).

In addition, an individual can ask his bank to replace their NFC bank card with a conventional card or deactivate the function.Please note: some establishments invoice deactivation.Anyway, the bank cannot refuse its client's request.

Contactless payment costs: is the service paying?

The bank cannot invoice a more expensive bank card incorporating NFC technology, nor withdraw commissions for contactless purchases.Paying without typing your confidential code therefore does not lead to additional costs.

Advantages of contactless payment and COVID-19

The main advantage of contactless payment is saving time.Not only does the customer no longer have to type his code, but he no longer needs to look for his yellow parts in his wallet for small purchases, provided that the merchant does not require a minimum amount for theuse of the bank card.

Finally, contactless payment allows you to lend your card (for example, to one of your children) without having to disclose your confidential code if, of course, the purchase planned is less than 50 euros.

In the context of the COVVI-19 epidemic, pay without contact for small payments in a bakery, a pharmacy, a grocery store or on a food market helps to reassure the consumer, even if no scientific study clearly establishesThat composing your four -digit code on the digital pavement of the payment terminal is a source of contamination.Note that contactless payment is presented as a barrier gesture by the CB bank card group, communication operation relayed by the Ministry of Economy on its website.One thing is certain: this gesture constitutes an additional precaution, provided you do not enter the payment terminal with full hands and to respect the other health recommendations!

The risks of contactless payment

The CB bank card group ensures that contactless payment is not more risky than "normal" bank payment.According to the GIE, it is technically impossible that the purchase will be debited twice.The group recalls that, in any case, the ceiling of 50 euros cannot be exceeded.In the event of fraudulent use, the owner of the bank card is protected in the same way as for a purchase "with contact" or on the Internet: it will be reimbursed if it certifies that it is not the buyer.

This is why, the GCB advises, as for any payment, to check before paying the amount registered on the terminal then, after the transaction, the amount mentioned on the receipt.The Customer is invited to keep his invoices and regularly consult his bank statements or his mobile application.In doubt, he must contact his bank.In the event of loss or theft, he must always oppose, whether his card has NFC technology or not.

Note: if the card has been stolen or lost, the 50 euros franchise on fraudulent purchases does not apply for contactless transactions.The card owner is fully reimbursed.

Finally, the GCB certifies that remote capture of NFC bank cards is not possible.Under the pressure of the CNIL, the contactless cards no longer allow the reading of the carrier's name.The latest generations of NFC cards no longer allow access to transactions history.However, the CNIL and the Banque de France recommend placing its contactless card in a special aluminum case, supposed to prevent data remote capture.This case must normally be proposed by banks.Again, some establishments can charge this service.

In an activity report of the Observatory for the Security of Payment means (OBSMP) published on October 18, 2021, the rate of fraud on contactless transactions was established in 2020 to 0.013% for a total amount10.5 million euros.“The rate of fraud on contactless payments is always at an intermediate level between that of local payments (0.009%) and that of withdrawals (0.029%), and well below that of remote payments (0.174%)"Indicates the observatory.This level is lower than the rate of fraud for checks (0.088%) and cash withdrawals to the ticket distributor (0.029%) and online payments (0.174%), according to the Obsmp figureswhich depends on the Banque de France.