Where Will I See Contactless Technology in My Everyday Life?

As contactless technology embeds itself into the fabric of everyday transactions all over the world, numerous industries are fine-tuning integration of this latest payment technology into their operations.

Employee Badges: Organizations all over the world are using contactless technology to verify individuals’ authenticity before granting access to a restricted facility, computer system, or electronic device.

For example, a government employee might be required to use a “proximity” card in order to enter a secure facility. Where that employee might have once swiped a magnetic stripe card through a reader, she can now use a contactless card that is more secure and allows her to pass through the access control gate more efficiently.

Or a financial institution might have employees processing sensitive client information. If an employee steps away from his computer for a coffee break, a proximity device he is wearing might trigger his computer to perform a system lockdown until he returns.

Public Transportation: Planes, trains, buses, automobiles, and even shared bicycle services are implementing some form of contactless technology. In fact, multiple citywide transportation services now employ contactless payment methods and many more are making the move to contactless, allowing riders to carry one less card in their wallets by effectively rolling the transit card into the bankcard.

Your local retailers: Before you know it, most, if not all, of your payment cards will offer a contactless option. And once mobile companies and handset providers hash out the best and most efficient way to use mobile payment via contactless on your mobile phone, we will see thousands of mobile payment applications for every possible retailer emerge.

Robert Siciliano, personal security expert contributor to Just Ask Gemalto. Disclosures