The Commonwealth Bank of Australia is to launch Australia's first MasterCard PayPass program on a six-month trial basis, using smart cards provided by secure card-based solutions provider Gemplus International. During the pilot, the bank's cardholders will simply place their card in front of the terminal to make a payment.
According to Gemplus, the trial will initially be rolled out in New South Wales. The first phase will involve 33,000 Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) cardholders, who will be able to use their MasterCard PayPass cards at more than 150 participating merchants, including fast food restaurants and convenience stores.
CBA cardholders will be able to use their MasterCard PayPass cards for transactions under A$35, and will not have to enter a PIN or sign a receipt. Gemplus has commented that this will reduce the transaction time, and therefore improve customer service. The company added that security remains as high as for a traditional credit card.
Contactless payment is becoming an international trend and innovative banks such as CBA want to be the first to provide their customers with this convenient way to pay, commented Philippe David, vice president of business development and financial services at Gemplus.
Gemplus is providing its GemInstant cards for the trial, a range of contactless payments solutions that have already been tested in other parts of the world.