The Change Mariner

Companies Test 'Contactless' Credit Cards

Yahoo! News:

The familiar process of buying something with a credit card -- handing the plastic to the clerk or swiping it yourself, then waiting for approval and signing the receipt -- could be headed the way of the mechanical brass cash register.

For more than a year, MasterCard and American Express have been testing "contactless" versions of their credit cards. The cards need only be held near a special reader for a sale to go through — though the consumer can still get a receipt.

The card companies say the system is much faster and safer because the card never leaves a customer's hand.

"In some instances it's faster than cash," said Betsy Foran-Owens, a MasterCard vice president. "You're eliminating the fumble factor."

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