Bank of Ireland to push circulation of contactless cards

About seven in ten transactions in Ireland are
still cash-based – but now the Bank of Ireland is going to issue
one million contactless-technology enabled debit cards before the
end of 2011 to migrate consumers to electronic payments.

The Visa debit cards will enable holders to
pay for purchases of up to €15 ($21.38) by waving the card in front
of a contactless POS device.

The announcement by the Bank is in line with
the Irish government’s target to cut back on the volume of cash and
paper-based transactions under its National Payments Plan.

“Contactless technology is a key development
in promoting electronic payment methods for low value transactions.
From the end of this year counting coins to pay for items such as
fast-food, newspapers or coffee will be history for Bank of
Ireland’s customers who choose to embrace this new technology,”
said Quentin Teggin, head of consumer segments at the Bank of
Ireland.

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