Jan 8, 2022, 9:16 pm
Last edit by: SPN Lifer
Older (archived) threads:
2017- 21
2014-16
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FAQ
(Non-exhaustive) list of EMV contactless supporting merchants in the US:
* CDCVM support confirmed
** CDCVM support depends on store/restaurant
† CDCVM supported in MSD mode
2017- 21
2014-16
- - - - - -
FAQ
- What is EMV contactless?
EMV contactless is a form of near-field communication (NFC)/contactless that uses the same security and encryption that is used when inserting a chip card into an EMV-enabled terminal. Other than not having to sign/enter a PIN for smaller transactions, the security is effectively the same as chip and PIN/chip and signature. (EMV stands for Europay, MasterCard & Visa, the 1994 founders of the EMV chip or smart chip technology.)
In contrast, MSD contactless is an older version that is designed just and only for the United States. This effectively uses much the same flow as a swiped card transaction with the same rules. - What is CDCVM?
CDCVM stands for Consumer Device Cardholder Verification Method. It's a method of telling the terminal that the customer verified their identity using their mobile device. Terminals that support it will waive the signature/PIN requirement typically in place for larger transactions, potentially saving time at checkout.
More info: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202527
- Does EMV contactless need to be supported to support CDCVM?
Typically, yes. (However, there are some exceptions below.)
- Why can't I tap my foreign-issued contactless card at most places in the US?
This is likely because the store does not support EMV contactless. Foreign issued contactless cards typically do not support MSD contactless since other markets have had EMV for quite some time. In contrast, most stores in the US have yet to get the necessary certifications/software for EMV contactless so they are typically MSD-only--if contactless is enabled at all. (See below for a list of stores where your card will likely work.)
- I paid for a purchase with Apple/Android/Samsung Pay and still had to sign for it.
Most likely, the store in question does not have EMV contactless enabled (see above question). However, there are instances where CDCVM does not work even with EMV contactless enabled. Restaurants that allow tip adjust, for example--where the tip amount is written on a paper receipt and entered by the staff later--cannot support CDCVM. It may simply be a matter of the merchant's processor or the POS software in use not supporting it too.
Another common reason is if you used a US-issued AmEx card with a mobile wallet. AmEx currently does not allow EMV contactless support in mobile wallets for these cards, so they always run as MSD contactless. Because of this, CDCVM is not supported (with very few exceptions, as noted below).
Note: if you used Samsung Pay, you may have paid with MST instead of NFC. Since MST emulates the magnetic pulses that the terminal receives when swiping a regular card, the normal magstripe rules apply.
- How can I tell whether EMV contactless was used?
An easy way to tell if you have Apple Pay is to pay with a Visa or MC while in airplane mode. Wallet will then show a transaction amount next to "Payment" for the card that was used. Alternatively, EMV-related information will typically print on the receipt (AID, etc.) if EMV contactless was used.
(Non-exhaustive) list of EMV contactless supporting merchants in the US:
- 7-Eleven
- 99 Ranch
- Albertsons (Safeway, Vons, Pak N Save, Jewel, Acme, Shaws, Star, Carrs, Randalls, Tom Thumb, Haggen, Eagle, Lucky UT/SoCal)
- Apple Store*†
- Athleta
- Auntie Anne’s Pretzels
- Banana Republic
- Costco Wholesale
- CVS
- DuaneReade*
- El Pollo Loco
- EG Group US (Quik Stop, Kwik Shop, Tom Thumb, Turkey Hill) Note: cashier must press "Electronic Payment" to activate NFC
- Five Below*
- Five Guys
- GAP
- Grocery Outlet*
- Harmon's Grocery
- H&M*
- Jolibee
- Kohl's*
- Lush Cosmetics*
- Maverik
- McDonald's*
- Meijer
- Old Navy
- Panera Bread
- PetSmart
- Ray's Food Place
- Round Table Pizza
- Royal Farms
- Red Ribbon Bakeshop
- Sheetz
- Sherm's Thunderbird Discount Markets Inc.*
- Sprouts
- Staples*
- Starbucks*
- Subway
- Walgreens*
- Weis Markets
- All businesses that use Square and support contactless*
- All businesses that use Clover and support EMV†**
- All businesses that use First Data standalone terminals (e.g. FD100+FD35, FD130) with EMV enabled**
* CDCVM support confirmed
** CDCVM support depends on store/restaurant
† CDCVM supported in MSD mode
USA contactless payment cards (2022 - 2023)
Jan 11, 2022, 2:02 pm
#16
Join Date: Apr 2019
Posts: 201
For those of us who have credit cards of varying rewards types and the understanding and willingness to use them, CashAppPay is of little use. But there are a lot of people for whom CashApp is their bank/wallet. That's who Square is targeting with this. I know a handful of folks who have a "regular" bank account where their pay goes but out of which basically comes rent and some bills (and a couple who don't have a traditional bank account at all). The rest of spending is done through payment apps in lieu of paper/coin money. If Square can get people to leave the funds in Square's app and move it around between merchants and other Square users, that's better for Square and I can totally see it working.
Jan 17, 2022, 12:31 pm
#17
Join Date: Oct 2007
Programs: AA, WN, UA, Bonvoy, Hertz
Posts: 2,491
The CashApp QR transaction would definitely be handled in the closed loop network, but Square is charging the merchant the same discount rate, so there is no incentive so far.
Jan 22, 2022, 10:02 am
#18
Join Date: Oct 2019
Posts: 137
Tropical Smoothie Cafe finally has contactless!
Jan 22, 2022, 3:37 pm
#19
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: SJC
Programs: AA, AS, Marriott
Posts: 6,061
Mrs. Majuki and I just returned from a week at Walt Disney World. We used our MagicBands almost everywhere they were accepted. All vendors within the parks accepted contactless payment too. For the MagicBand payment at sit down restaurants it varied based on location. In certain restaurants the waiter had to take my MagicBand away to process it. At other restaurants the waitstaff had portable terminals. I also noticed it asked for the PIN if I paid at the table - a receipt still printed with a tip line and signature - but the waiter running the MagicBand at the station did not require a PIN.
Jan 23, 2022, 12:52 am
#20
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: San Diego, CA
Programs: GE, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 15,507
Not strictly about contactless but Treecard may be one of the few (or possibly only) debit cards available in the US that prefer offline PIN on the contact interface (global AID only, of course, not on the common AID). I'm not sure if that was intentional or if they don't fully realize that it may cause problems domestically; there were no instructions after changing PIN indicating that the old PIN may need to be used one or more times before the change takes.
Anyway, I'll have to think of a place to try it that supports PIN but won't try to use the common AID to see what happens.
BTW, the contactless interface also prefers PIN on both AIDs so for international use, this might get around the need to insert in places that support online PIN.
Anyway, I'll have to think of a place to try it that supports PIN but won't try to use the common AID to see what happens.
BTW, the contactless interface also prefers PIN on both AIDs so for international use, this might get around the need to insert in places that support online PIN.
Jan 25, 2022, 1:21 am
#21
Join Date: Oct 2019
Posts: 137
Mrs. Majuki and I just returned from a week at Walt Disney World. We used our MagicBands almost everywhere they were accepted. All vendors within the parks accepted contactless payment too. For the MagicBand payment at sit down restaurants it varied based on location. In certain restaurants the waiter had to take my MagicBand away to process it. At other restaurants the waitstaff had portable terminals. I also noticed it asked for the PIN if I paid at the table - a receipt still printed with a tip line and signature - but the waiter running the MagicBand at the station did not require a PIN.
Jan 26, 2022, 12:48 am
#22
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: SJC
Programs: AA, AS, Marriott
Posts: 6,061
Jan 26, 2022, 4:16 pm
#23
FlyerTalk Evangelist
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Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: San Diego, CA
Programs: GE, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 15,507
On that note, I wonder if I need to start tapping with my phone again to get places to bring out the terminal. I haven't seen anyone try to tap my card recently at the drive thru, for instance.
Jan 27, 2022, 10:13 am
#24
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: SJC
Programs: AA, AS, Marriott
Posts: 6,061
I was at a coffee shop in Boca Raton yesterday afternoon, and their payment processor is PAR Pay. I noticed there was a tip prompt before presenting the payment method. (I tapped my card.) This is the way it should be done versus presenting payment and then either having a tip prompt or, worse, printing out a signature slip with a tip line.
Jan 30, 2022, 1:06 am
#25
FlyerTalk Evangelist
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Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: San Diego, CA
Programs: GE, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 15,507
Long story but I have a Sam's Club membership for the next year or so. I went to one earlier today to pick up my membership card and noticed that they seem to be rolling out Lane/8000? terminals at the checkouts. There were still a lot of areas using iPP250s, though. I still think it's unlikely to result in any good news for contactless acceptance, however, but who knows?
Jan 30, 2022, 3:58 pm
#26
Join Date: Oct 2019
Posts: 137
Unlikely. Adopting a customer friendly practice is not something Walmart does. The old terminals are probably just at their EOL.
Feb 1, 2022, 2:50 pm
#27
Join Date: Oct 2014
Programs: Skymiles
Posts: 3,251
Long story but I have a Sam's Club membership for the next year or so. I went to one earlier today to pick up my membership card and noticed that they seem to be rolling out Lane/8000? terminals at the checkouts. There were still a lot of areas using iPP250s, though. I still think it's unlikely to result in any good news for contactless acceptance, however, but who knows?
. It’s because the iSC250 is now EOL’d by Ingenico. who knows though. Maybe they will enable it. I wish.
Feb 1, 2022, 3:32 pm
#28
FlyerTalk Evangelist
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Join Date: Jan 2014
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Walmart seems like the kind of company that'd enable it everywhere but the US only because it's mandated everywhere else. On the other hand, I do remember Walmart Canada specifically calling out contactless support (while Walmart US' marketing focuses more on curbside pickup and online ordering), so it could also simply be different strategies among the different regions.
Feb 3, 2022, 2:40 am
#29
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: SJC
Programs: AA, AS, Marriott
Posts: 6,061
I went to the Dry Tortugas the other day, and the bar onboard the ferry had a sign on the payment terminal that read "contactless not accepted". Of course the tap/insert/swipe prompt appeared, so I decided to try to tap. However, I saw a CARD READ ERROR message. Now, this was an offline transaction as we were outside of cell phone coverage, and the transaction didn't appear as a pending charge until the next day. I don't think the fact that it was an offline purchase would prevent contactless from working, would it?
Ironically, the gift shop at Fort Jefferson has a Clover terminal that does accept contactless payments. Once I got back in range near Key West, I did see that the pending charge was there for that purchase and had the e-mail receipt. (I assume this terminal is connected to the satellite Internet connection available to the staff on the island.)
Ironically, the gift shop at Fort Jefferson has a Clover terminal that does accept contactless payments. Once I got back in range near Key West, I did see that the pending charge was there for that purchase and had the e-mail receipt. (I assume this terminal is connected to the satellite Internet connection available to the staff on the island.)
Feb 4, 2022, 11:33 am
#30
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: San Diego, CA
Programs: GE, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 15,507
I went to the Dry Tortugas the other day, and the bar onboard the ferry had a sign on the payment terminal that read "contactless not accepted". Of course the tap/insert/swipe prompt appeared, so I decided to try to tap. However, I saw a CARD READ ERROR message. Now, this was an offline transaction as we were outside of cell phone coverage, and the transaction didn't appear as a pending charge until the next day. I don't think the fact that it was an offline purchase would prevent contactless from working, would it?