Retailers gearing up for “Wave and Pay”

The “Contactless” card payment acceptance market is set for step growth.
A recent independent report suggests the number of retail locations that accept contactless payments is set to surge by more than 12.5 million within 5 years.

The report by IMS Research suggests that the number of contactless-enabled points of sale in existence will grow six times faster than any other face-to-face channel.

Expense Reduction Analysts Head of UK Banking, Stephen Whitlam, says: “Retailers have been hard hit by the downturn but the successful ones have not taken their eye off the long-term horizons for both cost control and meeting the demands of customers. Aimed at low-value quick transactions – typically below £10 – the heavy overhead costs of both cash handling and cash processing can be attacked. In my opinion the UK market is leading the world in this particular field. What is also interesting is that it is the “chip” which is key, not the card. So mobile phones, pens….literally anything…can be the means of payment. It is always on our agenda when we undertake projects – albeit where transactions are a low average ticket value”.