MYTH NFC payments have become so popular with the emergence of smartphones and customers’ willingness to use their phones.

FACT “In Canada, the proliferation of NFC payment acceptance actually predates the use of smartphones for payment. The contactless payments ecosystem was driven by vendors who elected to provide contactless capability as a standard payment terminal feature several years ago, while card issuers were increasingly including contactless with CHIP cards. With contactless payment acceptance already in place in the country, smartphone users have enjoyed widespread use of their devices at the vast majority of points of sale.”