Contactless payment is the future, and now is the time for banks and credit card companies to join. MasterCard announced that starting in 2024, it will begin to phase out physical cards with a magnetic strip on the back. It plans to eliminate their use by 2033.

Mastercard is the first major company to announce the transition since contactless payments. In the past year alone, the proportion of in-person card transactions has declined, and in-store mobile payments in the United States have increased by nearly 30%. Mobile payments "based on short distances" have also increased, that is, using NFC or QR codes. Analysts estimate that this number will increase by about 24% next year.

However, the physical card will not go anywhere. Instead, MasterCard will issue cards with built-in chip payment functions. These have been widely used in other markets such as Europe. The United States has made slow progress in adopting EMV-based chip payments, which is safer than the official outdated magnetic stripe method. Mastercard's position may help stimulate other industries to consider similar transformations.

Mastercard may also make room for other payment methods it is brewing. Recently, Samsung and MasterCard announced that they are developing a credit card with a built-in fingerprint scanner for those who still need a physical card. It is called a "biometric card", and a chip will be embedded inside, provided by Samsung. The card will completely cancel the PIN code and replace it with a fingerprint. Samsung will gradually introduce new cards in South Korea later this year. This may explain why Samsung cancelled its MST technology, which relies on magnets embedded in smartphones to disguise itself as a traditional card.