ASDA Getting Prepared to Accept Contactless Card Transactions
- UK’s second largest retailer ASDA is getting prepared to enable contactless payments in its stores. Deployments are under way with the help of processor Streamline and Visa Europe: starting: 25 stores are to be equipped by 25 July.
- Streamline and Visa Europe are in charge of related technical issues. Streamline will also be ensuring dedicated support and implementation services.
- As of 1st June, Visa cardholders will be able to opt for this means of payment to pay for their purchases up to 20 pounds limit (compared to 15 pounds today).
Source: Visa Europe press release
- The scale of this partner retailer should cater for the development of contactless payment in the UK: a country which has been focusing on this issue since 2007 and stands as a Pioneer both for deployments and adoption.
- According to the UK Cards Association, 19.6 millions contactless cards and about 73,000 adapted POS devices were in circulation end September 2011. According to Visa, these figures may now reach 20 million and 100,000 respectively and increase to 30 million and 150,000 by end 2012. In addition to this encouraging levels and the commitment of large-scale retailers, contactless technologies should also benefit from the impulsion provided by the Olympics to take place in London this year. On this occasion, several initiatives have been launched. Visa Europe and Samsung for instance are betting on this event to promote mobile contactless payment (see February 2012 Insight).