Coles plans contactless rollout for 2012
06 December, 2011
category: Contactless, NFC
Australian supermarket chain Coles is gearing up to launch contactless payments in stores by mid-2012, according to CNET Australia.
Despite expressing misgivings about NFC security back in August, Coles says they will go ahead with a payment terminal roll out that will see customers making contactless purchases of $100 or less.
Coles, which opened its 150th store in Queensland last month, partnered with Visa to set up the system.
“Australian shoppers are clearly embracing contactless payments,” Visa Australia’s country manager, Vipin Kalra, told CNET Australia. “In fact, we’ve seen a 150 per cent increase in the number of Visa payWave transactions in the September quarter compared to the June quarter.”
The retailer will first test the contactless payment terminals, provided by Ingenico, in select stores in February ahead of a full rollout in July 2012.
Woolworths, Coles’ biggest competitor, announced in May its plans to roll out 30,000 contactless terminals across its retail empire, but has yet to set a completion date, notes CNET.
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