The Visa payWave feature gives cardholders the option of paying for small dollar purchases - typically under $25 - simply by waving their credit card near a Visa payWave reader. Select TD Visa Cardholders in Kitchener-Waterloo will receive their new 'dual interface' chip and Visa payWave-enabled Card beginning in April.

Also announced today, TD Merchant Services has begun installing Visa payWave secure contactless readers at merchant locations in the Kitchener-Waterloo area including participating Dairy Queen and A&W Restaurants; over 300 additional Visa payWave readers will be installed at merchant locations across the trial area in the months to come. TD Merchant Services is the first payment processor in Canada certified by Visa Canada to offer Visa payWave acceptance to its merchants.

"Speed and convenience when making purchases are benefits that are important to our customers - that's why we're offering them the Visa payWave feature," said Jim Sallas, SVP Personal Lending, TD Canada Trust. "TD Canada Trust is unique in that we are the only financial institution in Canada to offer both Visa payWave-enabled products and point-of-sale acceptance, and we're certain our TD Visa cardholders and merchants will enjoy the benefits of this simple and fast payment solution."

Within Canada, the Visa payWave payment platform is unique because it is based on EMV chip technology which is widely used in other parts of the world. This technology provides increased protection against counterfeiting and skimming fraud as the encrypted data on an EMV chip card is virtually impossible to copy. Visa payWave-enabled transactions will be processed through the same reliable Visa payment network used for all Visa card transactions.

"We're making the Visa payWave feature available to our entire merchant customer base in Kitchener-Waterloo and, based on the early response from merchants, we're excited by its potential for our customers," said Jeff van Duynhoven, Vice President, TD Merchant Services. "The fact that TD Canada Trust and other institutions are issuing credit cards with the Visa payWave feature will help create a critical mass of cards in market in a relatively short period of time, an important driver whenever introducing new technology."

Using a TD Visa Card with the Visa payWave feature to make a purchase can be faster than paying with cash at quick service restaurants, drive-throughs, coffee shops, grocery stores and more. Transactions made with a TD Visa Card using the Visa payWave contactless feature will not require a signature or PIN to complete the transaction and will provide customers with an additional vehicle to take advantage of TD Visa's loyalty rewards programs.

"TD is leveraging Visa payWave-enabled products to offer a faster payment option that is secure to both busy consumers and merchants who wish to increase efficiency at the point-of-sale," said Derek Fry, President, Visa Canada. "Visa congratulates TD on expanding its innovative payment solutions and on its implementation of chip technology."