Visa and MasterCard are making massive investments in contactless payments in the European theater which, according to one Visa spokesperson, could mean “the year of contactless payments.” Visa alone is investing nearly $13 million to help retailers adopt to the new technology. Such cash infusions could also jump start payments via NFC-compliant cell phones.

MasterCard said it had already included contactless technology in almost 45 million cards distributed across the world. Plus, the credit card giant earlier this week announced its deal with French retailer Carrefour, which will begin accepting the contactless PayPass MasterCards.

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