Contactless

Faster, user-friendly, or simply trendy: contactless payments are generating more and more success around the globe. Contactless means faster transactions, more impulse purchases and less wear-and-tear for the terminal.

Contactless and NFC

Contactless payment systems rely on credit cards, key fobs, mobile phones or other devices that use near-field communication (NFC) to carry out secure payments through a contactless-enabled terminal. Customers tap their card on a clearly recognizable "landing zone" (a large antenna area), and the terminal reads the data needed to process the transaction. No need to insert the card. So payments go faster, but are just as secure. The cards are as secure as contact cards in their use, with the added advantage that they are more difficult to duplicate.

Contactless transactions mean faster payments. There is no need to insert a card, and no PIN code required for smaller amounts. The result: shorter checkout times, more frequent and more impulse purchases.

As there is no contact, wear and tear is kept to a minimum. So the system is more reliable than contact card systems, with lower maintenance costs in the long run. 

Atos Worldline NFC-enabled solutions

Atos Worldline has carefully monitored the development of this payment technology and is developing contactless readers for its terminals. The new XENTA Contactless Reader for instance can easily be installed on new or existing XENTA terminals. The new contactless option has recently been participating in pilot projects across Europe and will be available in 2009.