Contactless credit card technology

The UK banking industry has confirmed that from September this year they will be introducing a new type of credit card technology called contactless cards. The system is extremely easy to use and means that for all credit card purchases under 10GBP, card holder will only need to hold their cards up to a secure scanner to pay for the items. It offers a flexible alternative to cash building on the same secure chip and PIN technology.The new technology will be recognised by the ripple symbol. Although contactless technology means that credit card holders will not be required to input their pin number from time to time, users will be asked to input their pin number to verify authenticity.

The launch will be focussed around on London (EC2, EC3, EC4, E1, E14, SE1, SE16). After the initial launch the upgrade will be introduced across London, followed by a gradual national upgrade in 2008. Initially the following organisations are expected to participate with all major card issuers to follow.

• Bank of Scotland
• Barclaycard
• Citi
• Euroconex Technologies Ltd
• Halifax
• HSBC
• Lloyds TSB
• The Royal Bank of Scotland Group

This is a global scheme that has already been introduced to the USA and many other countries across the world, making it easy to use your credit cards where ever you are. It's estimated that by the end of 2008 over 5 million contactless cards will have been issued being accepted at over 100,000 merchants in the UK.