Sheetz today announced that it is making the purchasing process faster and easier for its customers by accepting Visa Contactless payments, a new feature on Visa cards that uses radio-frequency technology to enable customers to make a purchase by simply holding their Visa Contactless card near a secure reader at checkout instead of swiping it.
Sheetz has installed 1,000 contactless card readers at 310 locations throughout 2005 - making them the nation's first convenience stores to bring the added speed and convenience of contactless to the point of sale.
Visa Contactless transactions utilize a capability embedded in the card that contains payment information, which can be processed rapidly and securely over an extremely short distance at the point of sale terminal. All other aspects of the contactless transaction are handled in the same way as a traditional credit or debit payment transaction.
"Sheetz prides itself on being a pioneer in the convenience store industry and being the first retailer to put a contactless system into use across the entire chain," said Louie Sheetz, executive vice president of marketing, Sheetz, Inc. "The whole idea is to simply add another layer of convenience for our customers."
Visa Contactless provides greater convenience to Sheetz's customers by eliminating the need for a signature for payments under $25, while cardholders receive all the same security protections the industry has come to expect from Visa, including zero liability for fraudulent charges and Visa's industry- leading anti-fraud technology. Also, cardholders making purchases at Sheetz with Visa Contactless enjoy additional layers of security because the card never leaves the customer's hand, can only be read at extremely close proximity to a contactless reader, and uses data that is unique to each contactless transaction.
In addition to improving the shopping experience for its customers, Visa Contactless payments enable Sheetz to process more transactions in less time and significantly improve operating efficiencies - Visa tests show that contactless payments are up to 25 percent faster than cash transactions and enable merchants to track the day's receipts electronically.
"Visa is pleased to partner with a pioneering merchant like Sheetz to deliver the next generation of payment technology, and increase convenience and speed at the point of sale," said Elizabeth Buse, executive vice president, product development and management, Visa. "Throughout our payment trials, Visa cardholders consistently say they prefer merchant locations that offer them payment choice, as well as speed and convenience. Thanks to our partnership with merchants like Sheetz we are able to meet that demand."