When I went to college, it was the early days of commercial Internet. Compared to today, the speed was slow as molasses, but as a novelty at the time it still seemed amazing.

Fast forward 25 years and today’s kids don’t even know that we once had to dial a number on our landline phone to go online. From good ol’ dial-up to broadband to wireless, Internet technology has come a long way. And wireless technology itself is moving to the fifth generation (5G).

5G promises to enable more connectivity and faster transmission speeds than ever before. We don’t even need cables to carry data anymore. Indeed, we are headed toward an increasingly wireless world, and COVID-19 only accelerated the trend.

When the pandemic forced people to be physically apart, mobile devices allowed them to seamlessly and instantly connect to loved ones, friends, and coworkers. Now that COVID is largely behind us, that shift has become permanent and more pervasive.

Bringing the World Closer Together

It’s not a coincidence that technology stocks are outperforming this year. Companies that provide the solutions that help the world continue to function in lockdown stood to gain business. Even after COVID-19 disappeared, pre-COVID normalcy as we knew it never fully returned. For example, working remotely continued and video conferencing replaced in-person meetings.

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Even before COVID struck, touchless technology was already here. For example, at some stores I didn’t even need to hand over or swipe my credit card anymore. I could just hover my card or mobile phone over the scanner. Since physical contact is one of the ways the coronavirus passed from host to host, not needing to touch anything at a public place helped reduce that type of transmission.

Credit card company surveys of consumers have shown that post-COVID, contactless options more popular than ever. People are more willing to use the technology.

A Mastercard (NYSE: MA) poll taken in the early days of lockdowns indicated that contactless payments were growing twice as fast as contact payments. Among those surveyed, 74% said they would continue to use contactless payments after the pandemic is over.

Additionally, almost half of the respondents said that they had upgraded to a payment card capable of contactless payment.

Contactless: Here to Stay

Today, besides paying without contact, other forms of contactless interactions are already a reality. Visiting a restaurant for pickup is no longer necessary. You can order food online and have it delivered to your front door all without never speaking to anyone. You don’t even need to speak to the clerk at the hotel. You can book a hotel room online and use your phone as the room key.

From the business perspective, using contactless technology is more efficient. And from the user perspective, it’s not only safer in light of the pandemic, but it’s very convenient to be able to use your phone as essentially your personal assistant. Using the appropriate apps, consumers can do things that used to be the stuff of sci-fi movies.

Contactless technology goes beyond credit card payments. Other contactless technologies include voice command and facial recognition. The faster and more reliable wireless technology becomes, there will be more and more contactless capabilities. Technology is always evolving, and we are headed toward an increasingly connected, but contactless, world.

Even if you don’t feel like you need to use contactless technology in your life, from an investment perspective it’s important to keep tabs on which direction the wind is blowing. As the recent past has shown us, technology can change a lot in just a few years. Finding the right trends for investment can be a very profitable endeavor.

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