According to a study of Visa Consulting & Analytics (VCA), the consulting division of VisaIn Peru, more than 54% of face-to-face transactions as of December 2021 were made with contactless payments, that is, with the use of short-range wireless technology.
“In Peru, more than 54% of the face-to-face transactions that were carried out as of December 2021 were made with contactless payments, which shows the growth and adoption in the use of this fast, secure and convenient technology by consumers and local businesses”, said Gilberto Chaparro, General Manager of Visa in Peru.
Meanwhile, all face-to-face payment transactions made with contactless technology in Latin America and the Caribbean reached close to 35%, which represents an almost two-fold increase in the use of this payment method in the entire region compared to last year.
Thus, our country is among the eight that already carry out more than half of face-to-face transactions with contactless technology. Other nations include Chile (where penetration exceeds 84%), Costa Rica and Guatemala (with more than 70%), Panama and Bermuda (between 60% and 70% penetration), and Colombia, Nicaragua and El Salvador (which had more than 50% penetration).
Another relevant fact is that according to VCA, as of December 2021, the business sectors where contactless payments were most used in the region were in supermarkets, service stations, department stores and restaurants.
What is contactless payment technology?
Contactless payments work by using short-range wireless technology that will allow a terminal reader to detect a contactless Visa card, mobile phone or NFC-enabled wearable device only when it is in close proximity to the reader.
The consumer must hold their Visa card within 4 cm of the secure contactless reader for the payment to work. The reader screen gives the user the information about the transaction. It only takes a few seconds to read the card information, after which the cardholder can withdraw the card and the transaction is complete. (Source: Visa Timing Study, 2016)
On the merchant side, the point of sale terminal will also be identified with the contactless symbol, which indicates that the terminal is enabled for contactless payments and can accept payments with a contactless card, mobile phone or contactless-enabled wearable device. to pay.
Some points to highlight in the analysis of the use of technology in 2021 in the region include:
- More than 150 cities around the world have already enabled contactless technology to facilitate the payment of public transport fares. Latin America and the Caribbean was a pioneer in the use of this solution, which is already available in multiple transport systems in countries such as Colombia, Mexico, Brazil, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic.
- The adoption of contactless payments in Chile and Costa Rica has been massive and has seen marked growth since 2020, which continued in 2021, even when compared to the adoption of the same technology in Europe.
- One of the most important factors that makes Chile a model for digital payments in Latin America is its rate of banked consumers with access to this technology, which exceeds 73%.
Source: Larepublica
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