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Contactless integration "not that difficult"
16 Jul 2009

Integrating contactless payment systems into coffee shops and other businesses is not as difficult as many retailers initially assume, according to an IT boss.

Rene Batsford, head of IT at coffee chain Eat, told the online edition of Computing magazine that while technology is often the main barrier for restaurants and cafes looking to adopt wave-and-pay systems, many of these challenges can be "easily overcome".

Eat and Pret A Manger already use contactless payment technology, while high street retailer Boots has also rolled out a smart payment solution.

Guido Mangiagalli, head of new channels at Visa Europe, told the publication that 2009 could be the "year of contactless in coffee shops" and predicted the technology will be used even further afield by 2010.

Coffee Republic have been trialling pre-pay contactless and integrated loyalty with sQuid at some of their London coffee bars.

Adam Smith, managing director of sQuidcard, commented: "Coffee Republic have seen significant uptake and awareness among those consumers that have used this new integrated payment and loyalty smartcard."

He added that these developments are starting to "revolutionise" the way payments are made in the UK.