Having incorporated the technology into its cards, the bank is currently renewing its payment terminals. Some 200,000 contactless cards have been issued and 1,500 Ingenico payment terminals have been installed as part of the first phase of the project. The overall objective is to reach 600,000 contactless cards and 5,500 terminals by the end of the first quarter 2013. With this project, the bank hopes to generate a 5% increase in the volume of transactions.

Holders of the cards with the new contactless technology will be able to perform small transactions (under 20 Euros) by simply holding the card up close to the payment terminal. Specially selected for this ambitious project, Ingenico's iWl251 terminal will enable contactless payment to become a reality in Portugal.