The wave and pay system uses an identification method based on radio frequency so that, rather than having to insert a card directly into a reader, the card only needs to be placed somewhere close to an appropriately-enabled device in order for the details of the transaction to be transferred and recorded. This kind of card, which has a specially embedded electronic tag and so does not come into contact with the card reader or require a consumer to enter any similarly information, is therefore now regularly described as a contactless debit/credit card. Contactless cards incorporate certain security features, such as a fee limit on single transactions, and solely being usable a particular wide variety of times earlier than clients are asked to verify their PIN.

A in addition development of wave and pay comprises the mainstay of 21st century communication, the mobile phone. Instead of contactless cards, proprietors of greater sophisticated mobiles, smartphones such as the iPhone, have the option to simply wave their phone in front of a device in order to pay for things. These phones need to include a special app incorporating the details of one or more of a user’s payment cards. This concept, often informally described as a mobile wallet, exploits a new technology called Near Field Communication (or NFC for short), which basically allows two devices to exchange data when they come within a few inches of each other.