Contactless Smart Cards, RFID, Payment, Transit and Security

2012 Olympics won’t be contactless only

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Even though Lloyds TSB has been pushing contactless payments to make the 2012 Olympic games a cash-free environment it’s probably not going to happen, according to a Computing interview with Gerry Pennell, London 2012 CIO.

“Contactless is an interesting concept and we have had a few conversations around that, but my suspicion is that it isn’t something we are likely to do,” said Pennell.

“I don’t think that it is because contactless isn’t the way the world is going to go, but the issue would be whether there is enough return on investment in implementing the infrastructure to support that technology for an event that is gone after a few weeks.”

Read the full story here. [end] 

Related Articles
Coles moves forward on contactless rollout for 2012

Sticking to its plan for a contactless rollout in 2012, Australian retailer Coles has selected Ingenico to provide its Ingenico iPP350 contactless payment terminals.

According to finextra.com, the Aussie retailer first piloted the technology in September 2011, and has since decided to expand. All business groups will deploy the new iPP350 across 24,000 lanes within the next few months, making the retailer one of the first in Australia to offer the contactless payment option.

read more »
Olympics’ VIPs to get fast-tracked aisle for immigration at Heathrow

The 25,000 VIPs, including athletes, coaches and officials, arriving for the summer Olympics in London through Heathrow International Airport will have a dedicated passport lane just for them when passing through immigration, according to a Daily Mail article.

read more »
Isis looks to expand overseas

Isis, the mobile commerce joint venture between T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon, is looking to bring its contactless mobile payments service to overseas markets, according to Bloomberg.

read more »
Google plans UK 'Wallet' launch for 2012 Olympics

Google is looking to bring its contactless mobile payments service to the UK in time for the 2012 Summer Olympics, according to eWeek Europe.

Google Wallet, which enables customers to pay, redeem coupons and earn loyalty points all with a single tap of an NFC-enabled phone, could be tested in the UK as early as the first quarter of 2012. French newspaper Les Echos says the company is currently in talks with British banks, retailers and distributors.

read more »
la Caixa plans for major contactless roll out in Barcelona

la Caixa and Visa Europe have begun rolling out their contactless payment system in Barcelona. The bank is set to make all cards and point-of-sale across Barcelona contactless, requiring the distribution of 1 million cards and more than 15,000 new POS terminals.

read more »
Companies see London Olympics as mobile wallet catalyst

In the hopes that mobile wallets and contactless payments will catch on with consumers, mobile phone and financial services firms are looking to next year’s Olympics in London as a tipping point.

read more »

↓Ads by AVISIAN↓
Subscribe to the Contactless News Library
Gain access to the largest collection of Auto-ID analysis on the Internet.
Copyright © 2012, AVISIAN, Inc. All rights reserved.