Press release -
The contactless transaction threshold increases to £30 today. Visa Europe welcomes this new threshold increase and believes it will be the most significant to date.
Visa Europe believes that the threshold increase will redefine how contactless is used, now that higher value goods and services can be purchased using contactless. Consumers will be able to experience all the benefits of contactless – speed, convenience and security – across a broader range of shopping scenarios, which will see ‘touch to pay’ become more popular than ever before.
Visa Europe is now also seeing ‘touch to pay’ behaviour translating to other NFC enabled technologies; the recent launches of Apple Pay for iPhone 6 and Apple Watch and the new bPay wearable products have given consumers new ways to make contactless payments with Visa. And, these digital payment methods will be supported by the contactless infrastructure that is already in place, and continues to grow. Visa Europe has a mandate that by the end of 2019, all Visa point of sale terminals in the UK will accept contactless payments.
Commenting on the increase, Kevin Jenkins, Managing Director of Visa UK and Ireland, said:
“We believe that the new threshold increase to £30 could be the most significant to date, and has the potential to essentially redefine contactless usage. With contactless now accounting for one in 11 in-store Visa transactions, and Britons increasingly embracing the technology, our data shows that the rise could impact as many as 3 million Visa transactions per day in the UK, for a total of over £70 million.
“Supermarkets, clothing stores, department stores and pharmacy chains particularly stand to benefit from the increase, as 12 - 20% of Visa transactions at these retailer types fall into the £20 – 30 category. This is an opportunity to increase convenience, improve service and deliver an enhanced shopping experience for a significant number of their customers.”
Kevin has written an article discussing in details the impact of the increase on consumers and retailers which can be found below and here: http://vision.visaeurope.com/from-sandwich-shops-to-supermarkets-touch-and-pay-up-to-30/
If you have any questions, or would like to speak to Visa Europe about the significance of the increase then please get in touch.
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About Visa Europe
Visa Europe is a payments technology business owned and operated by member banks and other payment service providers from 37 countries across Europe.
Visa Europe is at the heart of the payments ecosystem providing the services and infrastructure to enable millions of European consumers, businesses and governments to make electronic payments. Its members are responsible for issuing cards, signing up retailers and deciding cardholder and retailer fees. Visa Europe is also the largest transaction processor in Europe, responsible for processing more than 16 billion transactions annually – at a rate of 1,622 transactions per second at peak times.
There are more than 500 million Visa cards in Europe, while €1 in every €6 spent in Europe is on a Visa card. Total expenditure on Visa cards exceeds €2 trillion annually, with €1.5 trillion spent at point-of-sale.
Since 2004, Visa Europe has been independent of Visa Inc. and incorporated in the UK, with an exclusive, irrevocable and perpetual licence in Europe. Both companies work in partnership to enable global Visa payments in more than 200 countries and territories.
For more information, visit www.visaeurope.com and @VisaEuropeNews
All usage of Visa cards are subject to the issuing bank’s terms and conditions. Charges may apply. By using a Visa card abroad you can see clearly any fees you may be being charged for using your card, unlike the hidden costs of getting cash at a bureau de change, which could vary based on the value of the currency you exchange.
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