Source: Barclaycard
Barclays and Barclaycard, the leaders in contactless payment in the UK, have today, 10th December 2009, announced that they have well over five million contactless enabled cards in issue in the UK. Contactless payment technology, pioneered by Barclaycard in the UK since 2007 with the launch of Barclaycard One Pulse, makes life easier for customers.
The announcement coincides with additional retailers accepting, and rolling out, contactless payment facilities. Caffe Nero, the largest independent coffee retailer in the UK, has signed up to contactless and completed the rollout of the technology across all 380 stores. Caffe Nero first trialled the integrated EPoS contactless system in several outlets in central London in December 2008, and completed the rollout across the entire network in October 2009.
Pret A Manger, the high street food chain that started accepting contactless payments in November 2008, has also successfully rolled out the technology in all 199 of its stores in the UK. Together, these retailers bring the number of outlets now accepting contactless payment through Barclaycard, to 20,000.
Amer Sajed, Chief Executive of Barclaycard UK, Business and International at Barclaycard, comments: "Five million contactless payment cards issued is a significant milestone on the journey of how people will pay for goods and services in the future. Together with Barclays we continue to rollout contactless technology across our card portfolio as we believe it is the future of payments. Consumer feedback highlights the increasing demand for contactless payment and we expect to see more retailers follow Caffe Nero and Pret A Manger and sign up to contactless in the near future."
Contactless allows customers to purchase items of £10 or under without the need to enter a PIN or sign, with customers requested to enter a PIN occasionally for added security.
Jonathan Hart, Managing Director, Caffe Nero comments: "We have had very positive feedback from our customers since our decision to trial contactless in December 2008. The rollout across our entire network will give our customers a choice of ways to pay which we hope will enhance their experience with us."
Simon Kerry, Head of IT, Pret A Manager comments: "As a high street food chain, our busiest times are during the morning and lunch time rush hour. These are the best times to pay with contactless as it cuts down on the amount of time that our customers will spend queuing in store. We are pleased our customers have embraced the technology and hope to see an increase of payment via contactless in the next year."
Other well-known brands such as EAT, the National Trust and Yo! Sushi also accept contactless payment as well as thousands of independent outlets.