stateside: US news …

        stateside: US news



                                                                                                                                   by US correspondent
                                                                                                                                   John Dawson


Contactless payment gathers momentum
RFID is hot on the heels of chip and PIN




Contactless payment has been                 To prevent card data being               already using the key fobs claim that
available to US motorists for many         fraudulently captured by hidden readers,   the faster transaction times and greater
years. The ExxonMobil Speedpass was        the devices must be within ten             convenience has resulted in increased
first introduced in 1999 and currently     centimetres of the POS terminal ­          sales. In addition, consumers benefit
over 6,000 of VeriFone's modified RF       hence the term `proximity cards'.          from lower costs. There is less need
250 terminals have been delivered to         There is also a magnetic stripe          to handle cash, improved operational
petrol stations and convenience stores     to allow customers to pay at either        efficiencies and greater reliability from
across the US.                             contactless or conventional terminals,     the terminals. The lack of contact results
  The Speedpass itself comes in            avoiding possible embarrassment and        in less wear and tear. And, unlike smart
the form of a key fob with embedded        abandoned sales. Verifone's PIN pads       cards, no extensive refit of the POS is
chip, which the motorist just waves        are also compatible.                       required ­ existing systems can be
in front of the RFID enabled terminal to     This contactless approach is             easily adapted.
complete the transaction. This speeds      especially suited to retail environments     The UK may be caught up in chip
up the process and cuts down queues.       where transaction speed is crucial, such   and PIN implementations, but it won't
  Now in Orlando, Florida-based            as multi-lane supermarkets at peak         be long before contactless payment
Verifone has its Omini 7000MPD family      times. The benefit to the customer is      starts to gain traction. RFID technology
of contactless payment devices certified   increased convenience, and more            certainly has huge potential.
by MasterCard PayPass and American         importantly, choice.                         In fact, do we need a card at all?
Express Pay, which are being deployed        Use of RFID technology means the         Forget embedding the chip in a key
to customer sites. Unlike the petrol       cards do not even have to be removed       chain or mobile phone, what about
station systems, MasterCard and            from the wallet. The fact that the card    inside the customer? That would
Express Pay use actual cards. Both         remains in the customer's own hands        certainly be more secure. Mind you,
depend on high frequency RF devices        at all times also reduces the potential    fraudsters phishing for account details
based on ISO 14443 standards and           for fraud by a store's employees.          will have a far more gory challenge on
the cards' embedded chips.                   The petrol and convenience retailers     their hands.


                                                    Retail Systems December - January 2005                                                      page 35