Wollongong Chosen For New 'contactless' Credit Card Trial
Illawarra Mercury
Thursday April 27, 2006
THE Commonwealth Bank has chosen Wollongong as one of three sites in Australia for a six-month trial of a new credit card called MasterCard PayPass.
The Commonwealth is the first bank in Australia to trial the card's contactless payment technology. In Wollongong there are around 50 retailers participating in the trial.The Central Coast and Sutherland Shire are also involved.Commonwealth Bank Group retail banking services executive Michael Cameron said MasterCard PayPass used "tap-n-go technology" for convenient, small credit card transactions.He said it was designed to provide customers with a fast, secure and convenient alternative to cash. "MasterCard PayPass uses state-of-the-art technology similar to e-tags used by motorists to pay road tolls. Cardholders simply hold the tap-and-go credit card up to a MasterCard PayPass terminal on the merchant's counter, wait for a beep, and the purchase is done. No signature or PIN is required for transactions of up to $35 and the whole transaction takes place in seconds," Mr Cameron said.Under the Commonwealth Bank trial, about 35,000 existing customers will be sent a new card with MasterCard PayPass and instructions on where and how to use it.Mr Cameron said it was hoped less money handling and quicker processing of customer transactions could result in smaller queues.MasterCard International Australasia senior vice-president and general manager Leigh Clapham said MasterCard had been a pioneer and strong advocate of contactless payment solutions."We have done this through the introduction of our PayPass contactless payment feature. To date, there are more than five million PayPass cards and devices with more than 25,000 merchants accepting PayPass globally," he said. "We are delighted that Commonwealth Bank of Australia is our first customer financial institution in Australia to pioneer this technology."
© 2006 Illawarra Mercury
