Visa payWave - Revolution In How We Pay?
Visa’s new technology, payWave, is said to speed up the way we pay for low cost purchases at locations like fast food restaurants, supermarkets, cafes, newsagents, transportation ticket purchases and more.
The way it works is by 'waving' a payWave Visa that has a small, embedded antenna within the card, in front of a payment terminal where it communicates with the Visa and finishes the transaction in 'less than a second'.
The credit card looks and works like your ordinary Visa, same chip and PIN technology, but the payWave also has a mark, or logo, that shows it can be used for payWave transactions.
At the moment, London is the only place where you can use this new technology. Marketing efforts began around late September at the busiest transport locations such as: Canary Wharf, Liverpool Street, Waterloo and Paddington stations.
The way this new Visa works is by utilising short-range wireless technology. The cardholder literally just waves the card no more than 5 centimetres from the terminal that is equipped with a 'contactless' reader. However, if you plan to use your new payWave card for purchases over £10 you better remember your pin. At the moment, this new wave technology is only designed for small transactions.
There are to be many benefits for the Visa payWave cardholder:
- Speed - For small purchases, no need to struggle to find the right change. Pay for your Cappuccino on the go! Payments are made in less than half a second
- Convenience - Visa's clever payWave technology is set to become the 'standard' feature for your debit and credit cards in the future
- Security - Highly safe cryptography is used to ensure the right amount is paid. There will be a pre-set amount that can be used for payWave transactions and this can only be reset when making a chip and PIN transaction
- Limited to Small Payments -You will only be able to use your payWave card for small transactions of £10 or less and on occasion you may be required to enter your PIN for security reasons
Visa payWave technology credit cards are currently being issued and recognized within the London area however, the goal seems set for this to be the newest wave in cardholder technology. Depending on where you live and your local branch, you may be able to get a payWave Visa at one of these banks: Barclays, Halifax BOS, NatWest, and RBS.
Also, Mastercard's new PayPass technology is very similar to this new Visa.
Published on October 24, 2007
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