Contactless cards come of age with latest
The era of fumbling around for loose change and nursing bulging pockets of coinage could be over for as many as 1 in 2 Britons – according to new research.
Visa Europe commissioned the study into contactless payments and found that 58% of respondents preferred contactless payment technology over cash or cards when on the move and nearly a third would use the tech rather than queue.
This technology allows people to pay for low value goods, or public transport fares, simply by swiping an enabled card – negating the need for a PIN number.
A lack of retailers equipped to handle the technology is still restricting growth however with more than half of those asked reporting that they have never been asked to pay in such a manner.
There are currently 15m contactless Visa cards in circulation in the UK, a figure which is expected to rise to 20m by 2012.
All UK branches of McDonalds, as well as Subway, Pret a Manger, Café Nero and EAT now employ the technology.