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European contactless smart card schemes expand
17 May 2010

Two major European service station companies are set to implement contactless smart card schemes, reports financial news website scotrade.com.

Fuel giant Orlen Germany will deploy cashless payment terminals across its entire 511 service station network by the end of 2010 and has already introduced the technology in 120 locations. 

Furthermore, French company Carrefour will also implement a similar project at its 210 hypermarkets and 1,200 service stations in France.

Contactless smart card payments are quicker than both cash and other card transactions, which will reduce customer waiting times and increase site efficiency. 

Cashless payments would also reduce the time a vehicle spends at the station, so more cars can be served by a station. 

Fuel retailers were previously reluctant to install the technology as it had a low transaction limit, so the cards were useless in places where fuel was expensive.

Orlen has rectified this problem by introducing a higher limit of €25 (£21), making it more appealing to motorists across the continent.