The rise and rise of contactless payment technology

The rise and rise of contactless payment technology.

 

Although seemingly slow to take off in the early days contactless payment technology now seems to be gathering momentum. Poland leads the way in Europe according to Visa’s Mark Austin; with just over 158M transactions using contactless cards in 2013. The UK saw 94M payments using contactless cards, up from 25M in 2012. 

TFL made the decision to go cashless on the London bus network from mid 2014 and already around 50% of what were previously cash transactions are now made using contactless. The expansion of the system across the Tube and DLR etc will be mirrored throughout the UK, for example in Manchester on the Metro and across Liverpool’s rail station network. 

The intended closure of London underground ticket offices (recent Tube strikes) demonstrates the impact on the use of cash and the costs to business of using cash when compared to the lower costs of automated contactless payments. However this convenience doesn’t come without issues. 

TFL has a major awareness campaign (posters, speaker announcements and internet adverts included) warning about what they describe as “card clash”. So what is card clash? Is it your credit debit cards arguing over payment? Of course not; what is really being described is the inability of the contactless payment reader to know which card you intend to use. Most of us carry several bank cards as well as travel cards such as Oyster. The payment terminal will take payment from the first card it properly connects with, whether or not that is the card you intend to use. Much advice is to separate your cards (carry two wallets?).  What happens if you enter the travel system for example London Underground and pass your wallet over the reader to log in your journey? The terminal reads card A, you then exit the system at the end of your journey and when you log out card B is read. Well you would be charged maximum fare on each card as you only have one read on each card and thus one journey on each card without a start and finish point. 

That’s where a simple and effective way of putting you back in control of your cards and when they get scanned comes in. VoyagerBlue contactless card shields are patented; fully tested and when in your wallet or purse next to your contactless credit or debit card will block any unwanted transactions. Watch video here. They will also prevent the possibility of fraudulent scanning of your personal data. The same technology will prevent unwanted scanning of your biometric passport. This may seem a little futuristic but already apps are available for modern smart phones that will read information on the chips used in bank cards, passports and more. FIND OUT MORE 

There were reports in the media earlier this year about unwanted transactions at major retailers in the UK due to proximity of readers to cards at till locations. 300,000 terminals were in place by the end of 2013 in major high street retailers and this will significantly increase through 2014/15 as the technology is more widely accepted. 

With all major issuers offering contactless cards and around 35 Million contactless cards already issued in the UK we will see continued rapid growth in this sector and its effect on the use of cash for lower value payments. The author also believes that the value of payments allowed per transaction will increase in the near future as the use of contactless cards becomes a major payment method. 

Food for thought, do you embrace the technology or do like the security (or not) of cash. Your data/personal information is being carried by the chips in your everyday items, watch out for the same technology in hotel room keys, season tickets and more and consider do you need to take steps to be in control of your “contactless”. Take a look at the video to see how you can keep control of your cards and data.  Watch Video

Never lose your wallet or phone again (and more).

Do you ever get halfway to work and realise your phone is on the breakfast table? 

There is now a solution. 

Have you ever dropped your wallet in a restaurant or left it at a till? 

There is now a solution.

The advent of Bluetooth low energy has allowed our VoyagerBlue development team to create  “App” based Gizmo’s that help to prevent the loss of your most valuable possessions.

For a number of years there have been high profile cases of laptops being lost with valuable data then left vulnerable, private and personal data such as Army medical records, recruitment details, and sensitive legal documents. In many cases they have just been forgotten in a café on a journey, left under a restaurant table only for an opportunist to make off.

Imagine if those responsible got an alert as they left the restaurant that they had left behind their valuable cargo  and they could turn right round and collect it?

Many of us have set of on a business journey and realised after some time that it has been a “quiet” morning. “Good grief my phone” Turn round and drive miles back and be late for your meeting or do without and miss that valuable sales enquiry. Well most folk have been the accidental victim of their own memory malfunction or scrambled busy mind.

There is now an answer with two invaluable devices that link to an App on your Smart phone, i-phone, i-pad, tablet or notebook.

The walletTag is a small slim “TAG” that slips inside your wallet, purse, laptop case etc, The SmartTag is a key Fob style device that fits on your keys, luggage, laptop case and even your kids. Using low energy Bluetooth connection with your smart device our proximity App then alerts you in one of two ways to the fact you have left your valuables behind.

As you walk out of the café where you have left your wallet with the Tag inside or your laptop case likewise your phone recognises that you have gone out of range of the Tags and sounds an alarm that notifies you immediately “Wallet” “laptop” or whatever valuable device you have just forgotten (you name each device as you please when you connect the App). You are still within just a few metres or yards of your valuable and can immediately return to pick it up before someone else does.

With the key fob device attached say to your car keys should you leave your home and leave your phone on the breakfast table an audible alarm will emit from the fob reminding you to pop back for your phone or tablet before you drive halfway to work. Both Tag and Fob (WalletTag and SmartTag) have two way find me systems, so if you cant find your phone in the house simply press the find me button and the phone will emit a pre-set alarm while you search it out.

Now on the Smart phone or tablet the App will do even more for you, If you have for some reason not heard the alert telling you that you have just left a café and left your wallet or laptop or even car keys then the App will record the location using your phones GPS system when you do realise you are missing your valuable, click on the App to discover where you left it.

Complicated? Not at all, take a look at the video demonstration and find out how you can prevent the loss of your valuables with WalletTag and SmartTag. Watch video here.

Please note the Map locater shows where you left your device, it is not a tracker but an aid to reminding you where you last had it.