The use of contactless technology to pay for everyday goods and services is set to rise as Danske Bank has announced it has issued contactless debit cards to over 265,000 of its customers in Northern Ireland. Tony Wilcox, Danske Bank’s Managing Director of Personal Banking, said:
“There is a growing expectation amongst consumers that card payments should be acceptable everywhere. Feedback from many of our customers clearly indicated a growing desire for contactless technology to also be made widely available and we have reacted to that demand”.
While still a relatively new technology in Northern Ireland, the UK Cards Association say that more than 370 contactless transactions are made every minute in the UK, that is six every second – and the uptake in useage has more than tripled in the last year.
Contactless technology is a fast and easy way to pay for goods and services of £20 or under without having to enter a PIN. Contactless cards have an antenna in the plastic so that when they are used at a contactless reader they securely transmit purchase information to and from the contactless reader to make a payment. A number of banks in Northern Ireland offer contactless technology to customers, but Danske Bank’s large scale migration project, providing the majority of their personal customers with such cards, is set to add further impetus towards changing consumer behaviour.
Ann McGregor, Chief Executive of the NI Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that the business benefits of contactless technology include “shorter queue times, reduced overheads and reduced costs per transaction”.
Many well known high street retailers have already introduced contactless terminals in their stores, including the likes of Boots, Marks & Spencer, Lidl, McDonalds, Burger King and Costa. Tesco, Northern Ireland’s biggest retailer, is also currently reviewing the introduction of contactless payment terminals.
Glyn Roberts, Chief Executive of the NI Independent Retail Trade Association, said many independent retailers are also already embracing contactless technology. He said:
“We very much welcome news that Danske Bank has issued contactless enabled debit cards to the majority of its customer base. Many of our members are forward thinking business people who already have the contactless payment terminals in place, however it is important that more is done to educate and encourage consumers to make use of this convenient facility”.
After meeting with Danske Bank, Patsy McGlone MLA, Chair of the Stormont Enterprise committee, said he wanted to see more retailers encouraged to operate contactless payment terminals, saying that there was “clearly an increased potential for basket spend given that customers become no longer reliant on the change in their pockets”.
Given the increasing popularity of contactless payments, the cards payment industry is already reviewing the agreed maximum contactless card transaction spend (£20), with a view to increasing it in the near future.
Retail Support: Tony Wilcox (Danske Bank) with Ann McGregor (NI Chamber of Commerce and Industry) and Glyn Roberts (NI Independent Retail Trade Association).
