Touch-and-pay card launched in UK

A card that lets shoppers to purchase points costing less than £10 without using a Pin figure have been launched.

Mastercard have launched the PayPass system in Greater London ahead of a United Kingdom rollout, saying it will cut waiting lines and the demand to transport cash.

Users pay for their commodity by touching the card on a reader and the money is then deducted from their depository financial institution business relationship or added to their recognition card bill.

However, critics have got highlighted security concerns.

PayPass is already used in a figure of countries, including the United States where there are 19 million users.

Meanwhile, Barclaycard bes after to establish its ain version of the system next week.

'Progress'

The United Kingdom roll-out have begun at some Greater London retail merchants with newsagents and coffeehouses among the first to utilize the so-called "contactless" technology.

PayPass utilizes a bit integrated into recognition and debit entry cards, and runs in a similar manner to the Oyster card game used on the Greater London Conveyance system.

We're simply responding to consumer demand for velocity and convenience

Joseph Oliveer Steeley, Mastercard

Mastercard caput of scheme and concern Joseph Oliveer Steeley said that deceitful usage - if a PayPass was lost or purloined - would be limited as users still necessitate to come in their Pin figure after a certain amount of sequent transactions.

But he admitted the card could be used up to five modern times - with a possible £50 beingness spent - before this happened.

Mr Steeley added that people had initially been sceptical about hole-in-the-wall hard cash machines and that paying by check had, until recently, been common.

"We're simply responding to consumer demand for velocity and convenience, especially at busy modern times of day," Mister Steeley said. "You can't stand up in the manner of progress."

Managing manager of standard atmosphere operator Depository Financial Institution Machine, Bokkos Delnevo, said he did not believe people would encompass the engineering and was sceptical that waiting lines would acquire any shorter.

"I happen it funny that the Banks and card issuers have got spent old age persuading us that bit and pin is a necessity for security grounds and now we've got used to it, they're saying there's no demand to trouble oneself for certain minutes at certain levels."

He added: "The public are always told its in the public involvement but really this is in the card issuers' involvement who desire to acquire quit of hard cash and do more than money out of card game and this is one manner they see of doing it."