Paying electronically is expanding beyond the checkout line this week. Is this good news?  Wal-Mart, PayPal, and Stripe are launching major new initiatives that will alter the way millions make purchases.

Walmart begins rolling out tap-to-pay, including Apple Pay, at select U.S. stores this week, while TikTok is exploring a way for people to send money through direct messages. And Stripe, Visa, Wise, and trade groups are now supporting the Federal Reserve’s proposal to explore a FedNow expansion for cross-border payments. It’s an early signal that instant-payment infrastructure may eventually reach beyond domestic transfers.

Is it safer to pay this way? Consumers should tap or use the chip whenever possible—not swipe. Contactless payments and EMV chip transactions create dynamic, transaction-specific data, while a magnetic stripe contains static data that can be copied by a skimmer. Tap-to-pay also means the card never enters a reader, reducing exposure to tampered terminals. Cash avoids card-data theft but can be lost or stolen without the consumer protections and transaction alerts typically available with cards and digital wallets.

Credit and debit cards now make up about two-thirds of U.S. consumer payments, while cash accounted for roughly one in seven. Cashless checkout is increasingly common in settings such as stadiums, airports, event venues, and some campuses. The rules to stay safe are simple: use official apps and payment terminals, protect your device with a passcode, and independently verify any unexpected request to send money.