Tap-and-Pay Function for EMV Co-Brand Credit Cards Debuts

An EMV-based co-brand credit card solution with tap-and-pay functionality for retail partners has been launched by Alliance Data Systems.

The first of these dual-interface chip cards are co-branded with MasterCard and BJ’s Wholesale Club and the Fuel Rewards program. With this new functionality, customers can pay for purchases by tapping their card on a contactless-enabled terminal.

Contactless cards offer a payment method so quick and seamless, shoppers don’t even have to think about it, according to Art Roca, senior director of payment services for Alliance Data’s card services business. 

“That’s what frictionless payments is all about,” he said. “With the rise of mobile wallets, the industry will continue to shift to faster and easier methods of payment. The rollout of an EMV tap-and-pay card enables us to keep the customer experience consistent across our mobile and chip card solutions and with the predominance of plastic cards, contactless will reach more customers earlier in the adoption cycle.”

EMV – which stands for Europay, MasterCard and Visa – is a global standard for cards equipped with computer chips and the technology used to authenticate chip-card transactions. Retailers’ EMV terminals require customers to insert their credit cards into a credit card slot at the bottom of the terminal, removing the card only after the transaction has been completed. 

“EMV cards offer big protection in a tiny chip,” Roca said. “When we add the contactless technology that allows customers to tap, pay and take away, shoppers can count on convenient, simple and fast ways to buy.”