Surprised how the man ahead at the supermarket cash counter queue paid by merely waving his debit card and punching-in a few digits on the PoS machine? Welcome to the world of contactless cards, in your own city.
The city is one of the three locations – besides Mumbai and Gurgaon – where the country’s first contactless debit and credit cards have been rolled out by ICICI Bank. They work on Near Field Communication technology and their USP is performance and the way they are used. Convenience, speed of transaction and enhanced security distinguish them from the rest, spokesmen of the bank say. Unlike the existing practice of swiping or dipping, a process whose pace depends on connectivity speed and number of people waiting at the counter, the contactless cards have to be just waved before the PoS (point of sale) terminals at the commercial establishments.
Given the possibility of misuse if a transaction is all about waving the card – from a 4 cm range on the PoS machine – there is a second, mandatory step of punching the 4-digit PIN on the device. Use of PIN is something mandated by RBI for card transactions.
Advantages
The key advantage is that user need not hand over the card to the staff, be it a shop, restaurant or petrol bunk, during the transaction. This could be an effective solution to crimes that involve copying the card details, creating clones and cheating the cardholder of big sums. “The card comes with a secure EMV chip technology that gives enhanced protection against fraud to avoid cloning,” according to the bank. A spokesperson said 1,200 electronic data capture machines to facilitate such contactless payments have been installed in many merchant establishments in the three cities. ICICI Bank levies an annual fee of Rs.499 for the contactless ‘Expressions Wave’ debit card.
