Contactless Payments in a ‘blink’
23 May, 2005
category: Contactless, Education, Financial
J.P. Morgan Chase has announced the planned roll-out of a contactless consumer credit card this summer. “Chase credit cards with blink” will be rolled-out market-by-market with early acceptance locations including 170 7-Eleven stores, followed by fast food restaurants, drug stores and others. The convenience store chain Sheetz will reportedly be the first Chase partner to issue a co-branded credit card with Chase’ blink functionality.
WILMINGTON, DE – May 19, 2005 – Chase Bank U.S.A., N.A., a division of JPMorgan Chase & Co. [NYSE: JPM], announced today that it will become the first bank to increase the speed and convenience of a credit card by broadly rolling out consumer cards with contactless functionality, called blink. Chase will begin a market-by-market rollout of the “Chase credit cards with blink” this summer, after working closely with merchants in each market to ensure the broadest possible acceptance at launch.
Working in conjunction with Visa U.S.A. and MasterCard International Incorporated, Chase has identified merchants where speed and convenience are important to consumers, and has been actively building a roster of merchants in each market. Initially, Chase cardmembers will be able to blink at well-known movie theaters, convenience and specialty retailers such as 7-Eleven, quick service restaurants and drug stores. Chase will announce additional lists of specific merchants when they issue cards with blink in each market. Sheetz, Inc. – one of America’s fastest-growing, family owned and operated convenience store chains – will be Chase’s first partner to launch their co-branded credit card with blink functionality, allowing customers the ability to use Chase cards that blink at all of their locations.
To use Chase cards with blink, cardmembers simply hold their card near a point-of-sale terminal at checkout, instead of swiping their card or handing it to a store employee. As cardmembers hold their Chase card with blink near the point-of-sale terminal, the terminal will quickly emit a signal or tone to acknowledge payment confirmation.
“We believe these innovative cards with blink will provide merchants and cardmembers with the increased speed and convenience they want at the point-of-sale,” said Carter Franke, chief marketing officer of Chase Card Services, the company’s credit card division. “In the future, Chase cards with blink will also allow us to reward cardmembers at the point-of-sale and provide merchants and our cobrand partners with an opportunity to build even stronger customer loyalty programs.”
In each market, Chase plans to offer its cardmembers hundreds of merchant locations accepting Chase cards with blink, providing them with numerous opportunities to make everyday purchases quickly in places where they might normally use cash. Consumers can use cards with blink everywhere they currently use credit cards – anywhere Visa and MasterCard are accepted – plus, use the new blink functionality wherever contactless payments are accepted. By the end of 2005, Chase plans to have thousands of merchant locations accepting Chase cards with blink across the country.
7-Eleven, Inc. will be an early adopter of the Chase cards with blink, testing the card in 170 of its stores. “Because 7-Eleven is synonymous with convenience, anything we can do to improve a consumer’s shopping experience at a 7-Eleven store is always under review,” said Rick Updyke, vice president of business development for 7-Eleven, Inc. “The new Chase cards with blink provide customers with a faster, easier transaction. Contactless payment fits well with 7-Eleven’s strategy of providing consumers convenient, quick service. As such, we expect to roll out acceptance of these cards to our 5,300 U.S. 7-Eleven stores.”
Chase cards with blink offer all of the same security and privacy protections consumers and merchants have come to expect from a leader in the payments industry, including cardmembers having zero liability for unauthorized purchases. Chase cards with blink include a technology that is embedded in the card and read by a point-of-sale terminal. To enable quick and convenient payments, Chase cards with blink hold the same data and security features that enable traditional credit card transactions. Cardmembers may also use Chase cards with blink just as they would a traditional credit card with a magnetic stripe. More information is available about Chase credit cards with blink at www.chaseblink.com/national.
Integrated Marketing and Advertising Campaign
Beginning with the first market, Chase will launch a fully integrated marketing and advertising campaign to help educate and excite local consumers and cardmembers about Chase cards with blink. The local campaigns will encourage cardmembers to “blink lunch,” “blink a drink” or “blink a movie” by bringing to life how the card works at many local area merchants. The campaign will leverage television, radio, newspaper and billboard advertising to reach consumers, and will be complemented by several cardmember communications about the new card functionality.
Benefits for Cardmembers and Merchants
After taking part in a pilot program in Orlando in 2003 and evaluating the results of trials from around the world, Chase understands the value and benefits that Chase credit cards with blink provide to both cardmembers and merchants. Trial results confirmed that consumers find the contactless technology to be simple, fast and convenient, and that consumers enjoyed the added security from retaining possession of their cards while paying.
The most significant timesavings can be realized in the drive-thru environment, where transaction time was reduced by as much as 20 seconds as compared to cash. Consumers also liked the convenience of not carrying cash for everyday purchases, meaning they no longer needed to fumble around for change and small bills, or be confined by the cash in their purses or wallets. In fact, 60 percent of respondents to a recent MasterCard survey said they use cash less often today than they did five years ago. For merchants, blink transactions speed checkout times and allow consumers to spend less time waiting in lines. Research has shown that customers who use blink cards often spend more per transaction and are happier with their store experience. Chase cards with blink also provide a reliable, trusted payment method that works well in environments where speed is important.
Making More Time for Americans
In support of the new Chase credit cards with blink and their ability to offer cardmembers more time and convenience, Chase recently commissioned a telephone survey conducted by the Opinion Research Corporation. The Chase “Just in a blink of time” Index polled 1,000 adult Americans hoping to discover what really irks them about waiting in line to do everyday routine activities. The survey was conducted April 15 – 17, 2005 with the results representative of and projectable to the U.S. population. The margin of error is +/- 3.1 percent. The survey also revealed how Americans make the most of waiting in line and how they look for timesaving alternatives.
* Americans most dread waiting in lines at the doctor's office (27%) and the Department of Motor Vehicles (26%), followed by the grocery store (18%) and the airport (14%).
* Americans dislike waiting in lines, but the following behaviors make it worse - slow/inefficient cashiers (23%), someone changing their mind about an item that has been rung up (19%) and someone who leaves the line to run back for an item (19%).
* One-third of Americans (32%) get frustrated after waiting in line for 10 minutes or less.
* Half of Americans (52%) take the stairs instead of waiting for an elevator.
* One-third of Americans will drive fast (35%), bring other things to do while waiting in line (33%) or buy fewer items to use the express lane (30%).
* Also, one-quarter of Americans use a fast pass on the highway (24%).
