Visa predicts that 20 million Visa contactless cards will be in use in the UK by the end of the year. There are already 13 million Visa payWave cards in circulation and millions of cards are expected to be handed out in the coming months as more issuing banks and retailers embrace the technology.
McDonald’s has already deployed contactless terminals at its 1200+ fast food locations and Starbucks has promised to follow suit. Terminals will soon be in place on buses and the tube will start accepting contactless cards next year. Meanwhile, Lloyds, Royal Bank of Scotland and Bank of America, have all announced that they will begin issuing the cards.
Mark Austin, head, contactless, Visa Europe, commented on the prediction saying, "Contactless payments are building to a genuine tipping point due to a combination of critical factors - more banks are issuing cards, major retailers such as McDonald's are adopting the technology, and contactless travel infrastructure through Transport for London is being realised."
Contactless cards make check outs quick and easy which is one of the reasons that Visa is pushing contactless in the run up to the 2012 Olympic Games in London. The new technology will make it easier to handle the large crowds expected to flock to the event and as an official partner for the games Visa could stand to turn quite a heavy profit should the cards prove to be popular.
As always, stay tuned to Credit Cards Professor for more credit card news and updates.
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