Credit card payment networks once operated separate secure online payment systems such as Visa Checkout, Mastercard's Masterpass and Amex Express Checkout. Starting in 2020, however, those systems were phased out and replaced with a unified system called "Click to Pay" that was created by the four major payment networks: American Express, Discover, Mastercard and Visa.
The unified system streamlines the online checkout process by replacing multiple buttons for individual services with a single Click to Pay button that gives the user access to all of their saved cards, regardless of the network they run on.
Now, when you’re ready to check out at an online retailer that uses Click to Pay, you can select which card you want to make the purchase.
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How Click to Pay works
Click to Pay makes online credit card payments easier and more secure. Instead of having to enter your card information every time you buy something, you simply hit a button and choose the card you want to use.
Before the unified system, when you went to complete a transaction with an online retailer, you may have seen buttons for different payment systems like Visa Checkout. Which systems were available varied by merchant. You clicked the button that corresponded to the card you wanted to use.
Today, there’s just one button for Click to Pay.
To make a purchase, click that button and enter your email address, which is your account username. You'll receive a one-time code to verify it's really you. Then, select the card of your choice to fulfill the purchase. You can set Click to Pay to remember you in your browser to make future transactions faster.
How to add cards in Click to Pay
To enroll your card in Click to Pay, you can go to the card network’s website dedicated to sign-ups. You can also add cards when you're checking out with an online merchant that uses Click to Pay. Select Click to Pay, choose the option for a new card and enter your information; it will be saved for future uses.
Shoppers can also store shipping and billing addresses in Click to Pay so they don't have to enter that information for each purchase.
Extra security behind the scenes
Aside from convenience, a key benefit of Click to Pay is tokenization. That means the transaction is handled with a unique code between Click to Pay and the merchant instead of the actual card number, expiration date and other information. Your card info never "leaves" the Click to Pay system, which makes it harder for your credit card number to get stolen.
Payment button image provided by EMV® SRC via BusinessWire.
