Chip + Signature is a dumb USian thing because merchants didn't want to change their readers to have a secure PIN pad.
Contactless has different floor limits than Contact (chip). For example, in AU, the limit for contactless without PIN is ~AUD100. In the UK, I believe its GBP30.
If you tap for a payment over that limit, the reader will ask for the PIN.
The primary difference is that if a customer uses contactless/contact and PIN, then the risk of the transaction is passed to the network/issuer, instead of the merchant.
Contactless has different floor limits than Contact (chip). For example, in AU, the limit for contactless without PIN is ~AUD100. In the UK, I believe its GBP30.
If you tap for a payment over that limit, the reader will ask for the PIN.
The primary difference is that if a customer uses contactless/contact and PIN, then the risk of the transaction is passed to the network/issuer, instead of the merchant.