What is the relationship between EMV and contactless transactions?

The EMV chip cards issuers are now providing can support contact and/or contactless transactions. When an EMV chip card is placed near or is tapped against a contactless terminal, the chip in the card communicates with the terminal software and processes the transaction in much the same way as it would if the card was inserted into the terminal but in less time. This can help alleviate the wait time for processing. Since the EMV card will typically stay in the customer's possession or be used via smartphone if they are using NFC (Near Field Communication) applications, this in turn will lessen instances of customers getting impatient or distracted and forgetting their cards in terminals.