ID Data today confirmed that it has successfully developed and delivered the UK's MasterCard Prepaid cards with PayPass, the next generation of contactless payment cards from MasterCard.

This project has shown that ID Data has the ability to compete in the new and challenging environment of RFID secure payments and has a process that can deliver flexible and innovative solutions in short timeframes.

MasterCard invited ID Data to participate in this project with a demanding time scales for the launch of the first promotional PayPass cards in the UK.

'Tap & Go' contactless payments are seen as the next major step in the development of card payment solutions which effectively replace the use of cash in every day low value transactions.

The PayPass solution for the MasterCard UK launch targets small value purchases where the card transactions do not have to be authorised online, but instead take place between the chip within the card itself and the PayPass-enabled reader. Once a preset offline spending limit for contactless purchases is met, the cardholder must perform a CHIP & PIN transaction.

The associated convenience delivers major advantages for both the consumer and retailer. The simplicity of operation makes each purchase considerably quicker than cash or conventional debit / credit card transactions using conventional chip and PIN technology.

PayPass functionality is expected to play a key role in payment cards issued under the MasterCard brand in the coming years. As one of the manufacturers for the UK launch, ID Data's state of readiness should allow it to gain additional revenue from its financial and banking clients elsewhere in the UK and Europe.

ID Data Group CEO, Peter Cox, said, "This major development has once again shown ID Data has the internal skills and technology to deliver leading edge solutions. ID Data has demonstrated not only its capability in producing complex dual interface products but also in card personalisation on and the loading of pre-approved funds. We look forward to working with MasterCard on other time sensitive developments in the near future."

Commenting on the launch, MasterCard's General Manager for UK and Nordics, John Bushby, said "In the UK alone, there are currently in excess of 20 billion payments under £10, with a value of approximately £200 billion a year. We believe that MasterCard PayPass is the faster, and more convenient way to pay for small purchases under £10. The Project Team at MasterCard have been impressed by ID Data's speed to market capability given the technical development work required."