The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its most up-to-date Monetary Policy Committee meeting has proposed to raise the limit for contactless card transactions from Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000 from January 1, 2021. However, ahead of opting for a contactless card and making use of it, you need to know its pros and cons.
Benefit
As the transactions on contactless cards are processed with out any safety code, these are really simple and you do not have to don’t forget the PIN. At the time of Covid-19 pandemic, contactless payments are also safer than handing more than a card and punching PIN.
“The RBI’s decision to increase the limit for contactless card transactions from Rs. 2,000 to Rs. 5,000 will give a much required boost to India’s digital payments industry. This hike in the limit will allow more people to transact conveniently and safely during this pandemic. This also gives businesses the opportunity to grow further by developing their point of sales terminals and encourage merchant acceptance – which is essential for the growth of the sector,” mentioned Nitin Bhatnagar, Associate Director – India, PCI Security Standards Council, the organisation that was founded in 2006 by American Express, Discover, JCB International, MasterCard and Visa Inc and is involved in preserving, evolving and advertising Payment Card Industry requirements for the security of cardholder information across the globe.
Risks
As transactions on contactless cards are performed with out any safety code, there are dangers that an unauthorised transaction may well go by way of with out your authentication. Moreover, incidents of on the net economic frauds have enhanced numerous fold with the raise in on the net transactions for the duration of the pandemic.
“At our recently concluded India Forum, several cybersecurity experts came together to discuss the risks attached to contactless payments as well. Cybercriminals have altered their tactics during this pandemic to exploit people through the Covid-19 messages. Cybercriminals will be looking to gaining access to databases of businesses for confidential payment card information. It is absolutely important that merchants, payment solution providers and vendors to look into the adoption of PCI Data Security Standards to help protect their customers payment data,” mentioned Bhatnagar.
Make payments with out swiping and PIN! How safe are these contactless cards?
Precautions to be taken
As transacts are performed with out any safety code, it is really crucial to maintain the contactless cards securely. If you drop a contactless card, there are higher probabilities that you may well drop some income with out any authentication from your portion. More the limit of transaction limit, the threat is more.
Apart from maintaining your contactless card secure, you also have to have to make sure that transactions on such a card is performed at trusted locations to avoid information theft.
“Consumers should have confidence that a contactless transaction is as secure as any preceding form of payment. That is the responsibility of our industry and the business community to protect customers. Our role at the PCI SSC is to establish security baselines for technology vendors, solution providers and payment environments. That is why we list on our website those solutions in order to serve as a guide to merchants when selecting organisations to help them with their security needs,” mentioned Troy Leach, Senior Vice President, Engagement Officer, PCI Security Standards Council.