Covid-19: Contactless payments skyrocket because no one wants to handle cash

An employee wears a protective face screen as she takes payment on a contactless terminal at a bakery in Bern, Switzerland. Use of contactless mobile payments – services that once struggled to catch on in the US – is surging as people come to see their phones as the safer way to pay. — Bloomberg

As more people worry about catching coronavirus from touching cash and credit-card terminals, a one-time niche technology is roaring into the mainstream.

Use of contactless mobile payments – services that once struggled to catch on in the US – is surging as people come to see their phones as the safer way to pay. They’re also using mobile apps tied to payments, such as Amazon Prime Now, to place delivery or pickup orders for groceries. The US Treasury Department may even let people who don’t have bank accounts receive their coronavirus relief checks via mobile-payment services like Venmo.