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NFC has become a go-to technology for in-store card connectivity (as did mobile POS devices). It also led the
payments. Most credit and debit cards issued today use way toward more value-added services, such as loyalty
NFC to support tap-and-go payments, which took off programs.
during the COVID-19 pandemic. Mastercard reported that
46 percent of consumers worldwide now use contactless Perhaps the biggest change, however, was the birth of
payments. "NFC was the first technology change that was ecommerce. Amazon was one of the first companies
consumer driven," Apgar said. to sell online, starting with books and CDs in the mid-
1990s. Today the company is a retailing giant, with over
QR code payments also took off during COVID and are 300 million active customer accounts and nearly 2 million
now widely used in restaurants for menu ordering as well selling partners worldwide.
as payments. Concerns about touching surfaces during
COVID led many consumers to seek payment form factors "The advent of selling via the internet changed merchant
like contactless and mobile – 46 percent, according to sales enormously," said Dunn. "Gen Z and younger buyers
research by Nielsen Consumer LLC. go to their smartphones and tablets first rather than
thinking of jumping in the car and heading to the mall."
Mastercard research revealed that 51 percent of
Americans now use some form of contactless payment; Ecommerce, like contactless payments, saw explosive
the same percentage told Mastercard they were using growth during the pandemic. "There are two types of
cash less often or not at all since the pandemic began. merchants," Apgar said. "Those that want to keep costs
Merchant categories where consumers are most likely to down and those who want to invest in technology that
use contactless payments include grocery (85 percent), makes it easier for customers to shop. COVID really
pharmacy (39 percent), retail (38 percent), and QSRs (36 accentuated that split."
percent), according to Mastercard's research.

Ecommerce comes of age Patti Murphy, senior editor at the Green Sheet, has been following
and writing about payments for 40 years. She has been working with
The internet changed the bankcard landscape in several Green Sheet for 25 years. Patti is also co-host of the Merchant Sales
ways. First, it eliminated the need for dial-up terminal Podcast.

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