Contact-less payments to hit the mainstream?

It seems that September was the month for contact-less payments. Barclaycard launched the three-way OnePulse, touted as a panacea for Londoners as it combines a credit card with a contact-less payment store and the essential Oyster card for access to the Underground, buses and a growing number of commuter train services.

The contact-less element of the card is based on VISA’s payWave system (adverts for which currently seem to adorn every major tube station) which can be used for payments up to £10 in value and similar the Oyster card can be automatically topped-up from your bank account. A respectable selection of retailers have already signed-up include BooksEtc, Thresher group Off-licenses, Eat sandwich bars, Krispy Kreme stalls, Yo! Sushi and Coffee Republic – indeed many of the stores you’d expect to see at a mainline train station or other places people want to be in, out and gone in a short space of time.

Also, RBS has teamed up with the rival MasterCard for a trial of their competing PayPass system choosing to launch at a MacDonald’s drive-through in London and focusing efforts in the City and London Docklands.

Finally in London, the Evening Standard has launched the Eros Card, ostensibly to bolster sales of the newspaper in face of free rivals The London Paper stable-mate London Lite. Further afield, VISA has extended the form factor of its payWave offering to a Micro Tag-embedded key fob.

So what will make or break these initiatives? Essentially, it boils down to two related factors, positioning and critical mass. Establish enough well-targeted vendors on board and customers will see it as a worthwhile addition to their purse or wallet. So here’s my starter for ten to ensure any contact-less offering moves beyond a major metropolis trial:

·         Express-O Breakfast, lunch and coffee stores: Get the ubiquitous Starbucks to inter-operate its own stored-value card. Add in other major chains like Pret à Manger, Costa, Caffè Nero and that Decaf Soya Latte with wings will really fly.

·         Make Fast Food quicker: Some Burger King, KFC and MacDonalds already sport ‘express’ lanes – make these contact-less only and you can quickly get away from the screaming kiddy tantrums in the corner.

·         Meals ready sooner: Tesco Express, M&S Simply Food and Sainsbury’s local have become the corner shops of the 21st Century. Get your Chicken Tikka Masala and Jacob’s Creek on the table in time for Eastenders.

·         Speed reading: WHSmith has scraped a survival over the last few years with the success of its small outlets in train stations, airports and now motorway service stations. Get back on the road with your Werther’s Orginals, Red Bull and 80’s Dance Hits CD.

·         Feed the meter: Why-oh-why is there still parking that requires a fistful of coins? Especially when you’re in a hurry? Why not swipe in and swipe out like on the Underground?

Finally – a word to my own bank, make a Debit card version of OnePulse, please!