MasterCard PayPass sees cashless future

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MasterCard has today launched a national rollout of its PayPass contactless scheme.

The card company said PayPass is the new faster, safer and more convenient way to pay for everyday small purchases of £10 or less. The 'contactless' feature can be added to any MasterCard credit, debit or prepaid card, or Maestro debit card, providing an alternative payment form to cash.

John Bushby, MasterCard's general manager for Northern Europe said: "Consumers and retailers in other parts of Europe, the US and Asia are already embracing the ease and safety of contactless payments in retail environments where speed is essential.

"Led by Londoners using MasterCard PayPass or Maestro PayPass cards from this month, we believe UK consumers will also welcome the arrival of a new way to pay - whether it's buying a newspaper in the morning, a sandwich at lunchtime or a cinema ticket in the evening."

The national rollout of contactless payments will begin in London from this month and implementation across the rest of the UK is scheduled to take place throughout next year, with five million contactless cards due to be in issue for use at 100,000 retailers by the end of 2008.

The company also said Londoners will soon be able to use their PayPass cards at retailers including McDonalds, Eat, Coffee Republic, Yo!Sushi, Krispy Kreme, Books Etc, Threshers and the Science Museum, who participating in the launch programme.

MasterCard added that further announcements about participating retailers are expected soon from the major banks supporting the roll out.

It also said a YouGov-commissioned survey said one in six people (16 per cent) surveyed decide 'very often' or 'often' against making everyday purchases such as newspapers, sweets, cigarettes or sandwiches because they don't have change and don't want to 'break' a note.

This is despite the fact that another survey carried out only yesterday for ATM operator Bank Machine found 75 per cent said they prefer to use cash and are 'not happy' with the thought of the UK becoming a 'cashless society'.

Oliver Steeley, MasterCard Europe's head of strategy and business planning told IT PRO any consumer reticence was unsurprisingly going to be around security fears, but that perception of the risk of fraud was comparable to that when ATMs were first launched 40 years ago.

"The messages about safety are the same: look after your card, don't tell your PIN to anyone and report it if you think it's lost or stolen." He added that the card technology is also configurable so limits can be set on how much can be spent using PayPass, as well prompts to enter the PIN when the threshold expires.

Today's launch comes after the launch of Barclaycard's OnePulse equivalent, based on Visa's 'Wave and Pay' scheme, which launched in London last month.

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