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Contactless Payments Skyrocket Because No One Wants to Handle Cash

  • Worried about Covid-19, shoppers use phones to buy, get food
  • Keypads on credit-card readers are also a red flag in pandemic
A worker disinfects a Verifone contactless electronic payment terminal in Moscow.

A worker disinfects a Verifone contactless electronic payment terminal in Moscow.

Photographer: Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg
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As more people worry about catching coronavirus from touching cash and credit-card terminals, a onetime niche technology is roaring into the mainstream.