The 300 Canadian stores of office retailer Staples will soon be accepting contactless credit cards, including those that are EMV compliant, as the country transitions to the more secure chip and pin technology.
Staples will begin installing MasterCard PayPass-enabled readers and chip card terminals in its Staples Business Depot and Bureau en Gros stores across Canada beginning early next year.
Credit and debit cards are being upgraded with chip technology in order to enhance the security of payments. The way you complete a transaction with your MasterCard chip-enabled card will change, but the card will continue to function as a normal credit card with all the same features. In the future, instead of swiping a card that has a magnetic stripe on the back, cardholders will insert a card that has a computer chip embedded on the front. Instead of signing to verify a payment, cardholders will enter a PIN.
In addition to better security protection, the chip system can be used to provide new payment features like MasterCard PayPass. Signatures are not required for purchases under $50 (Canadian) and receipts are always available. Purchases over $50 (Canadian) will still require a receipt signature.
In addition to the EMV features of the card, Canadian MasterCard cards will also continue to carry magnetic stripes in order to be compatible at retailers who have not yet upgraded their payment terminals to accept the new chip cards as well as in other parts of the world where chip technology is not available. ![[end]](/resources/bullet/contactlessnews-4.gif)
