Discover To Start Phased Contactless Launch

Discover has announced it will start issuing contactless cards over the next several months.

“Contactless technology has become increasingly popular with our cardmembers and more accepted by merchants worldwide, and we want to deliver the best shopping experience to our cardmembers,” said Szabolcs Paldy, senior vice president of marketing at Discover. “The goal of this digital technology is to make payments fast, easy and secure, and give cardmembers more choices in how they pay.”

The cards will begin rolling out to Discover cardmembers who need cards reissued or replaced. In December, new members will start getting contactless cards automatically.

“Our D-PAS technology will allow Discover cardmembers to use their contactless cards instantly at millions of merchants across the globe,” said Andrew Hopkins, senior vice president of global products at Discover. “By leveraging the latest payment technologies, we are able to provide more convenient payment experiences for our cardmembers.”

Users can simply tap their cards at card readers instead of having to swipe or insert them.

Earlier this year, Discover announced it was going to make all deposit accounts fee-free. The company said in a release that customers with checking, savings, money market or CD accounts held with Discover Bank “can now rest easy” with the knowledge that fees will not accrue in the event of “an occasional oversight or pressing need.”

Discover eliminated fees for insufficient funds and excessive withdrawals. Penalty fees were also removed for falling below minimum balances and making stop-payment requests. Discover banking customers also have access to 60,000 fee-free ATMs across the country.

The elimination of fees also extends to charges for monthly maintenance, checkbook orders or replacement debit cards. In recounting benefits still offered to consumers, Discover pointed to Discover Cashback Debit, which offers customers 1 percent cash back on up to $3,000 in debit card purchases each month.