NatWest and RBS Customers to Get Contactless Visa Cards
It's all about the wave and pay.
While paying with your NFC-enabled smartphone isn't all that common yet, NFC-enabled bank cards are taking off in a big way. Visa today announced plans to roll-out contactless payment cards to RBS and NatWest customers in the United Kingdom. The credit card company said over two million eligible customers will get a contactless card over the next year.
"We're delighted to announce that RBS and NatWest will be rolling out Visa contactless cards in 2013," said Mark Austin, Vice President of Contactless at Visa Europe.
"Many major merchants like Marks & Spencer, the Post Office and London's buses are now accepting contactless payment as the service becomes a high street reality. We are expecting to see contactless transaction volumes quadruple in 2013 as momentum in this exciting space continues to grow."
The news should give NFC a bit of a boost in the UK market. Right now, contactless payments are accepted at over 150,000 terminals in the United Kingdom (590,000 across all of Europe). That figure looks to rise as the number of people touting contactless cards increases. Visa reports that there are almost 50 million contactless cards in circulation in Europe already. The company says 30 million of those cards are in circulation in the United Kingdom.
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Jane McEntegart is a writer, editor, and marketing communications professional with 17 years of experience in the technology industry. She has written about a wide range of technology topics, including smartphones, tablets, and game consoles. Her articles have been published in Tom's Guide, Tom's Hardware, MobileSyrup, and Edge Up.
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Visa & Mastercard NFC as existing today allows access to all card information which is not encrypted !! Name, #, CVC code, validity) as well as to recent transactions, without the owner being able to know the info has been stolen. This only requires an appropriate radio receiver which could be installed in a commercial Mall ... So both security and owner privacy can be violated. All of this because the EMV consortium rushed to deliver NFC, being afraid that other technical means could eat their ludicrous market.Reply