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Debts aims to keep you abreast of the latest developments affecting personal finance. If you live in one of the areas where the new payment system has been piloted this year, then you will already be aware of the ‘tap and go’ debit card set to ring the changes for a pocketful of coins.
Although in its infancy in the UK, ‘tap and go’ debit cards are already being used in around 20 countries worldwide. Visa and Mastercard have backed the development, which has already seen up to 16 million cards enter circulation in the US alone. By the end of 2010, it is thought around 5 million cards will be in use throughout the UK.
Barclays are the first bank in the UK to issue what they call ‘contactless cards’
All current account holders at Barclays have been issued with the new technology, which allows people to make cashless purchases under £10 by waving the new card in front of a scanner. The technology is expected to be introduced by all banks eventually and 100,000 shops will be accepting contactless or ‘tap & go’ cards by the end of next year. Other companies rolling out contactless technology include, HBOS, HSBC, Lloyds TSB, NatWest and RBS.
Apacs, the lending authority, have voiced concern over contactless cards specifically because PINs are not be required for purchases less than £10 in value. The fear is a lost or stolen card can be used freely by a fraudster, who can rack up multiple transaction under £10. An Apacs spokesman said: “It would be in Barclays’ interest to cover any losses that resulted from its contactless cards to encourage greater take-up of the service”.
Barclays defended the new card, saying: “A lost and reported card will be immediately cancelled, and no longer useable. A card that has been lost but unreported for whatever reason can only be used four or five times before a PIN is demanded. If the card was used fraudulently before it was reported missing we would look at the refund circumstances on an individual basis.”
The move by Barclays to issue 1.5 million of their customers with the contactless technology has been seen as a major leap towards a cashless society.
