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Plan to extend contactless payment drawn up
5 Mar 2010

A plan has been drawn up at the Smart Card 3rd Annual Payments Summit to promote a better understanding of the technology and ultimately to increase its adoption.

The conference, which was attended by delegates from across the industry, took place in Salt Lake City, USA, between 23rd and 25th February.

Discussions at the forum, which was organised by the Smart Card Alliance, an organisation that works to increase awareness of smart card technology's benefits, concentrated on the wide uptake of contactless payment.

It was generally agreed that implementation of contactless fare systems on transit systems would help to generate acceptance of contactless payment in other areas.

Dodd Roberts, president of the Merchant Advisory Group, said that to persuade him and other retailers to get on board, it was necessary to convince the industry that everyone was pulling in the same direction.

In 2009 more than 5.1 billion smart cards were distributed across the globe. In the US 12 airports have adopted the technology, all 13,000 New York taxis are equipped for contactless payment and the technology is a common sight on transit systems worldwide.

sQuidcard operates a number of smart card payment schemes across the UK, providing payment solutions on transit systems and at point of sale in shops and schools.

According to literature on the Smart Card Alliance's website, its promotion of smart card technology is "to protect privacy and enhance data security and integrity", while other benefits include ease of use, convenience and the ability to closely monitor transactions.