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Yeah, I never understood why "tap" and "contactless" became synonymous in this context, given that "tap" is an onomatopoeia for the sound of two objects making

Yeah, I never understood why "tap" and "contactless" became synonymous in this context, given that "tap" is an onomatopoeia for the sound of two objects making contact. Is it possible that "contactless" actually refers to lack of electrical contacts (i.e., not using the gold pads)? We already have plenty of words for this idea: radio, wireless, inductive. Or is the intent to mean no physical contact whatsoever such that a tap would only be accidental?

bluk 5y ago
For most people, I bet it's more of a marketing term. When people hear "contactless", they might think that someone can steal your credit card number or charge you just by being in the same area.
numpad0 5y ago
It’s not of both; significance of contactless technology that are used in Tap to [__] is that they require neither electrical nor physical connections. There are other RF-based technologies that require no conductive surfaces but some sort of mechanical touches. The reason why the users are instructed to slam the card or device is because users fail to perform required actions if simply told to hold the card or phones just right. Spatial cognition isn’t a forte for many. The reason why tap is used in VISA contactless over touch is probably because Suica system used by JR East uses the phrase “Suica is touch 1-second”.
joshvm 5y ago
It's physically easier to touch the reader than to hover over it? Especially if the reader is a bit janky/older and takes time to complete the transaction. If you look at Oyster (TFL) for example, most people physically touch their cards to the turnstile/bus readers. The official advertising also uses the phrase "tap in, tap out" for stations where there are no barriers. "Contactless" is also fairly widely used in the UK - e.g. "do you take contactless?". Contactless is because in theory you don't need to touch your card to the reader. My new phone seems to have a good enough antenna (active?) that it triggers the POS terminal much further away than my debit card, but usually the activation distance is small enough that tapping is easier.

bluk 5y ago

For most people, I bet it's more of a marketing term. When people hear "contactless", they might think that someone can steal your credit card number or charge you just by being in the same area.

numpad0 5y ago

It’s not of both; significance of contactless technology that are used in Tap to [__] is that they require neither electrical nor physical connections. There are other RF-based technologies that require no conductive surfaces but some sort of mechanical touches. The reason why the users are instructed to slam the card or device is because users fail to perform required actions if simply told to hold the card or phones just right. Spatial cognition isn’t a forte for many. The reason why tap is used in VISA contactless over touch is probably because Suica system used by JR East uses the phrase “Suica is touch 1-second”.

joshvm 5y ago

It's physically easier to touch the reader than to hover over it? Especially if the reader is a bit janky/older and takes time to complete the transaction. If you look at Oyster (TFL) for example, most people physically touch their cards to the turnstile/bus readers. The official advertising also uses the phrase "tap in, tap out" for stations where there are no barriers. "Contactless" is also fairly widely used in the UK - e.g. "do you take contactless?". Contactless is because in theory you don't need to touch your card to the reader. My new phone seems to have a good enough antenna (active?) that it triggers the POS terminal much further away than my debit card, but usually the activation distance is small enough that tapping is easier.