Are contactless payments safe? A Guide to tap-to-pay, QR codes, digital wallets, and security practices

With payment methods like tap-to-pay cards and QR codes on the rise, global contactless payments are expected to reach $15.7 trillion by 2029, up from $7.4 trillion in 2024.¹

What are the types of contactless or tap-to-pay solutions?

Businesses can offer a range of contactless payment methods to make transactions fast and efficient for their customers.

Popular contactless payment solutions include:

• QR codes. Businesses can create custom QR codes (also known as Quick Response codes) to direct customers to a given URL. If companies set this URL to, their online payment app or portal, the QR code offers a simple method for payment. Shoppers can easily scan the QR code, visit the URL, and complete their payment — all from the convenience of their mobile device.

• Digital wallets. Customers can securely store their payment information — from credit cards and bank accounts — in their digital wallet. They can then use the app to make payments easily and quickly.

• Contactless cards. Contactless credit cards and debit cards use radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology to process payments. Instead of swiping or inserting their card in a card reader, customers can simply tap or hover the card to pay.

When it comes to contactless payment safety, QR codes, digital wallets, and contactless cards have a lot to offer. These payment methods often have multiple security features built in and consumers are becoming increasingly used to them as they grow in popularity.

Are QR codes safe?

Even if you know what a QR code looks like, you might not know how it works and why it’s such a secure payment solution. Here’s a quick look at how QR codes work and why they should be high on your list of safe contactless payments.

QR codes, like regular barcodes, are custom graphics that store information and are read by machines. While barcodes are read horizontally, QR codes are read both horizontally and vertically. This way, they can store more information and be more difficult to hack.

They can also be placed on many different surfaces — like printed on a poster, displayed on a screen, or painted on the side of a building. And they can be easily scanned at any angle using a smartphone camera or compatible app.

Once customers scan a QR code, they can be directed to any URL, like your payment portal. There, they can securely enter their information and complete their purchase.

How does QR code encryption work?

QR codes are more advanced and secure than barcodes because of their encryption capabilities. That is, you can use QR code encryption algorithms to protect the information stored in your code. With this encryption, people can only successfully scan your code if they have the right software and access permissions.

Even if you use QR codes to send shoppers directly to your payment app or website, you can use data encryption to protect the customer information entered there. You can also set up your QR codes with two-step verification for accepting payments.

Ways to keep QR codes safe

Here are a couple of actions you and your customers can take to help ensure your QR code payments remain safe:

• Check the QR code. While it's almost impossible for hackers to modify a QR code to send payments to a different account, they may try to exploit QR code payments by changing out the QR code completely. For example, they might put a sticker over your QR code or place fake signage in your store displaying the fraudulent QR code. Keep an eye out for tampering by making sure your QR code signs look consistent and lead to your secure payment portal.
• Verify the payment. When you receive a QR code payment, you and your customer should double-check the transaction to verify that the payment went through successfully.

Is tap-to-pay safer than chip and PIN?

How safe is tap-to-pay, really? Believe it or not, tap to pay can be safer than paying with a credit card chip or debit PIN. When you insert your chip or enter your information into a credit card reader, that information can be copied or hacked.

Customers may want to know, is tap to pay safe from skimmers? Fortunately, the answer is yes. With tap to pay, your contactless debit card or credit card never makes physical contact with the card reader. Instead, it sends an encrypted, one-time code containing your payment information to the merchant’s payment processor. Even if someone were to intercept this code, they’d need the right knowledge and tools to decrypt it. That makes tap to pay one of the safest contactless payment options.

Furthermore, many customers appreciate tap-to-pay because it reduces their need to touch germy register stations and card terminals.

How does tokenization work?

How do contactless payments work, anyway? These payments use a process called tokenization to encrypt customer information.

Here's how it works: a credit card issuer creates a token — or a unique string of numbers — in place of the customer’s credit card number and billing address. Instead of transferring that sensitive data every time someone makes a payment, the token is exchanged.

Not only is the token encrypted, but it also has an expiration date. Plus, it can only be used by certain merchants and devices. So even if someone steals the token, they can’t use it to access or duplicate the customer’s payment information.

Are digital wallets safe?

Digital wallets are equipped with security features to help keep customer information safe. For example, they may require two-factor authentication to access the account or complete a payment transaction. Like contactless credit cards, digital wallet payments also use tokenization to send encrypted information between devices.

On top of that, many people protect their mobile devices with passwords or face scanning so only they can access their apps, including their digital wallet.