unattended payment
after 31st December 2015 must offer the
facility for the client to pay by contactless
means, and any existing terminals
must offer contactless payments by
2020. According to VISA’s annual report
there are now more than 143 million
contactless cards accepted at more than
3 million contactless terminals across
Europe.
Mobile Payments, like ApplePay and
Android Pay, have increased popularity
of NFC transactions and by 2025 it
is predicted that 65 per cent of all
transactions will be by mobile phone
as it becomes the preferred payment
method, with bank cards and cash
declining in popularity – remember
cheque books! Wearables like watches
and wristbands have been introduced
into the market and are able to complete
contactless transactions up to £30. All
these elements are driving contactless
payments to become the most
convenient, secure and reliable way to
pay. Cash is no longer king!
PIN Not Always Required
After years of Chip and PIN being the
standard way of accepting credit cards,
advances in the market, technology
and popularity, have made the industry
question whether PIN is always necessary.
When you think about it many card
transactions are under £30 and in an
environment where transactions never
exceed £30, why go to the expense
of fitting a Pinpad? The card schemes
acknowledge that vending machines,
short stay car parks and libraries are all
markets where the transaction value
will most likely not exceed £30, so have
agreed that such terminals are permitted
to accept chip and contactless only – with
no need for PIN.
If your transactions are low value,
so you have no need for PIN as a CVM
(Cardholder Verification Method) there
are new products becoming available
from Ingenico Group, Payter, CPI and
others. These all-in-one readers will offer
an alternative to the traditional Chip
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