ICICI Bank launches contactless debit, credit cards

ICICI Bank has announced the launch of country’s first ‘contactless’ debit and credit cards to enable electronic payments without swiping.

It will enable electronic payments by just waving the cards near the merchant terminal in lieu of dipping or swiping them. These cards are based on the Near Field Communication (NFC) technology, which provides customers the improved convenience of speed as these cards require significantly less time than traditional cards to complete a transaction along with enhanced security as they remain in control of the customer, ICICI Bank said in a statement.

At present, the ‘Coral Contactless Credit Card’ and ‘Expressions Wave Debit Card’ of ICICI Bank are powered to provide the contactless or the ‘tap and pay’ facility.

Both the contactless credit and debit cards can be used as regular cards at all MasterCard/Visa enabled merchant terminals, even those which are not enabled for contactless transactions. The facility is enabled through near field communication (NFC) technology.

“The bank has introduced these cards in Gurgaon, Hyderabad and Mumbai to begin with. Over 1,200 EDC machines capable of accepting contactless payments have been set-up across select merchants in these cities. The merchants include quick service restaurants, coffee shops, shopping marts and fuel stations where fast transactions are much required. The bank plans to shortly extend this facility to other cities as well,” the statement added.

Also, the RBI is looking at easing two-factor authentication requirement for small value transactions up to Rs 3,000. This will further reduce the transaction process to less than a minute.

Rajiv Sabharwal, Executive Director, ICICI Bank said, “…We expect this to be a big game changer in the Indian payment industry. The key advantages of these cards are speed and security. The speed of transactions will add momentum to high value payments. At the same time, it will herald a shift from low value cash payments to cards thereby bringing payments in quick service restaurants and shopping marts too under the formal channel. Also, the level of security is higher since the card doesn’t leave the customer during the transaction process.”

Ari Sarker, Country Corporate Officer and Division President, South Asia, MasterCard said, “The launch of contactless technology marks a milestone in the Indian payment industry as it joins a select group of markets which has access to this unique offering. Increasingly Indians have begun to embrace technology while making banking transactions. We are confident of their positive response to this technology as we keep looking for innovative solutions to meet the progressively sophisticated and digital needs of consumers across the globe.”

Uttam Nayak, Group Country Manager India & South Asia and Global Head Emerging Markets Digital, Visa, said: “payWave provides a faster, more convenient and secure way for consumers to pay for their everyday purchases. Contactless payments are designed to replace the use of cash in busy retail environments where speed and convenience are important, such as supermarkets, convenience stores, and quick-service restaurants. With payWave you no longer need to fumble with change or worry if you have enough cash for your purchases, allowing you to spend less time at the register and more time doing the things that matter most to you.”

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