The bank says it will begin rolling out the contactless payment cards to holders of its Visa Platinum and Signature credit cards in the second half of 2006.

Cardholders can pay for purchases by holding their cards near a secure reader at checkout instead of swiping them or handing them to a cashier. Customers will not be required to provide a signature for most purchases under $25, and contactless merchants will not have to provide a receipt for purchases under $25 to cardholders.

Brian Triplett, senior vice president of emerging product development at Visa, says more than 30,000 merchant locations in the US now accept contactless payments.

Customers can use the Visa cards to make contactless payments at a range of retailers, convenience stores and fast food locations, including McDonald's, AMC Theatres, CVS/pharmacy and Meijer.

The new Visa contactless cards will be personalised by First Data as part of comprehensive processing services provided to Wells Fargo.