US Bank adds Visa payWave to unembossed debit card

The instant-issue Visa payWave pilot is being tested at select U.S. Bank branches in Denver and Salt Lake City as part of U.S. Bank's on-going innovation in payments.

"Exploring smart and convenient ways to streamline payments is one of our top priorities," said Dominic Venturo, chief innovation officer at U.S. Bank Retail Payment Solutions. "Our customers have demonstrated great interest in any development that makes their lives easier, whether it's by giving them a debit card the minute they open their account, or speeding up their time in a check out line. Our goal is to continue to innovate and provide them with proven payment tools now and in years to come."

The pilot allows U.S. Bank and its customers to explore the benefits of combining three new technologies into one card - instant issuance, unembossed personalization and contactless payment. The instant issue debit card provides many benefits to the customer because the permanent debit card can be issued in the branch at the time the customer opens a checking account, rather than that same customer getting an initial temporary card, then waiting for the permanent one to arrive days later in the mail. Unembossed personalization provides greater security and customer satisfaction and Visa payWave allows the customer to pay for purchases by simply waving the card in front of a reader instead of swiping it, speeding up the payment process.

U.S. Bank chose the metropolitan areas of Denver and Salt Lake City for its strong U.S. Bank presence in both cities and because customers there are familiar with contactless payment. Many merchants currently offer Visa payWave readers as a payment option.

Visa provides the Visa payWave feature in this program, while Dynamic Card Solutions is providing the software and hardware necessary to personalize and issue the debit cards instantly at the branches.