Contactless Smart Cards, RFID, Payment, Transit and Security

UK Contactless payments need retailer and consumer support

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Despite deployment of a couple million contactless cards in the UK, the technology has a ways to go before it catches hold. Like elsewhere in the world, the U.S. in particular, UK analysts are noting that it’s not only consumers that need educating about the technology’s benefits, but retailers as well.

According to one observer, just 25% of the people in the UK with a contactless card realize it has that functionality. In addition, retailers are proving reluctant to jump on the contactless bandwagon, despite support from one of the UK’s largest banks. As this article’s headline points out, “Wave and pay is turning into chicken and egg.”

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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.

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The Auriemma Consulting Group (ACG) has announced the launch of its new Mobile Payments Report, a market research service that examines the mobile phone as a payments device, financial managing tool, marketing channel and as a method of engaging with consumers.

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In Europe, the Association for Retail Technology Standards (ARTS) and EPASOrg has developed a new global standard to help accommodate changes in new payment technologies, according to SupermarketNews.com

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A new survey from Euro Kartensysteme shows that Germans are starting to embrace the idea of contactless and NFC payments.

Out of 1,040 Germans aged 18-59, 43% responded that they would like to make contactless payments if given the opportunity, of which 58% percent would make their payments with a debit card card, 41% with a credit card and 50% with an NFC phone.

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Ed McLaughlin, MasterCard’s head of Emerging Payments, has some good news for those waiting on NFC-enabled phones for contactless payments.

In an interview with Fast Company, McLaughlin said that he didn’t know of a handset maker who wasn’t working on integrating support for PayPass contactless payments.

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CARTES in North America, a new annual card manufacturing, payment, identification and digital security expo and conference, has placed mobile payments at the center of its agenda of this year’s inaugural event.

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