Cashless in Europe
Will London's consumers and businesses embrace RFID payment systems? European contactless providers want to know.
By Jonathan Collins
Contactless—also known as RFID or cashless—payment systems may not be the talk of the town in London, but they are certainly drawing a good deal of interest. London is the first European city where contactless payments for convenience items have been made available. Back in September, the largest U.K. banks partnered with MasterCard and Visa—the largest credit and debit card companies in the world—to promote the benefits to consumers and retailers alike.
At present, that effort is concentrated in London's Docklands business district, but all concerned stress this is the first phase of a U.K.-wide rollout. And all the involved parties—the credit card companies, European banks and contactless-equipment vendors—are watching the trial closely to see whether the system is ripe for other European cities.
The technology offers benefits to consumers in terms of convenience, and to retailers through faster transactions and increased per-transaction spending. But it is the banks and their card-issuer partners that could see the greatest benefits, because contactless payments promise to eat into traditionally cash-only purchases and increase the number of transactions liable for transaction fees.
Contactless—also known as RFID or cashless—payment systems may not be the talk of the town in London, but they are certainly drawing a good deal of interest. London is the first European city where contactless payments for convenience items have been made available. Back in September, the largest U.K. banks partnered with MasterCard and Visa—the largest credit and debit card companies in the world—to promote the benefits to consumers and retailers alike.
At present, that effort is concentrated in London's Docklands business district, but all concerned stress this is the first phase of a U.K.-wide rollout. And all the involved parties—the credit card companies, European banks and contactless-equipment vendors—are watching the trial closely to see whether the system is ripe for other European cities.
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