First National Bank (FNB) has announced the discontinuation of its tap-to-pay contactless payment functionality, scheduled for April 2024. Initially launched in October 2016 as Africa’s first contactless tap-to-pay digital card wallet, the decision is driven primarily by the launch and uptake of alternate global digital card wallet solutions. FNB clients will still be able to use tap-to-pay functionality through alternatives such as Google Wallet, Samsung Pay, Apple Pay and others recommended. Despite concerns raised by the Ombudsman for Banking Services over fraud related to contactless payments, FNB assures users of the security of its tap-to-pay system, which employs tokenization and encryption to safeguard card credentials.
