Waiheke, New Zealand, 2014-4-11 — /EPR Retail News/ — New Zealand’s largest retailer, Foodstuffs, intends to make Visa payWave payments available to its members, who collectively operate 3,500 terminals in 700 stores including PAK’nSAVE, New World and Four Square stores.
Visa and Foodstuffs have collaborated to offer customers of the cooperative, the option to pay for their shopping using any credit, debit or prepaid card enabled with Visa payWave technology. Cardholders will be able to wave their Visa payWave-enabled card in front of the payment terminal to make purchases under $80 without the need to sign or use their PIN, and enter a PIN for any transactions over $80.
Foodstuffs New Zealand Managing Director Steve Anderson confirms contactless payments will start to be rolled out at Foodstuffs stores in late 2014 as the new technology at check out lanes is installed. Following this, PAK’nSAVE, New World and Four Square customers will begin to see Visa payWave information and instructions at their local stores.
“We are always striving to provide the best possible shopping experience for our customers. Contactless payments are steadily growing in New Zealand and we have seen them significantly embraced by consumers in other parts of the world. We believe this new technology will provide shoppers with an easier, faster and more convenient experience at the checkout.”
Caroline Ada, Visa’s Country Manager New Zealand and South Pacific, says Foodstuffs only needed to look at the positive impact Visa payWave had on retailers internationally to see what the benefits could be to its business.
“One of our international retailers saw that within six months contactless payments accounted for half of all their transactions, and they were 15 per cent faster to process than cash. This meant time savings for both customers and staff, enabling staff to be deployed to other areas of customer service within the stores. We’re delighted that New Zealand’s largest retailer has seen the opportunity and is set to embrace Visa payWave.”
The introduction of contactless-enabled terminals in Foodstuffs stores is bound to accelerate the growth of Visa payWave transactions in New Zealand adds Ada.
“There are 15,000 contactless terminals in place throughout the country and New Zealanders are already choosing the convenience of Visa payWave transactions, with 1.5 million transactions[1] made in December. Being able to use Visa payWave credit and debit cards for everyday purchases such as groceries will see contactless payments become a preferred way to pay for Kiwis.”
Visa payWave cards have an embedded antenna and microchip, enabling fast and secure contactless communication with the checkout terminal. From there the transaction is processed through the same secure network used for all Visa transactions. Visa payWave transactions are also processed three times faster than cash payments[2].
Multiple layers of security protect Visa payWave transactions, including EMV chip technology, a short read range and Visa’s Zero Liability[3] policy, which protects cardholders from fraudulent or unauthorised transactions.
[1] Source: VisaNet (December 2013)
2 Average Visa payWave transaction including printing of receipt takes 4-6 seconds, compared with 12-14 seconds for cash (Visa Smart Card Deployment Study in Taiwan and Malaysia, conducted by Deloitte in 2006).
3 Visa’s Zero Liability policy covers Australia and New Zealand-issued cards and does not apply to ATM transactions, transactions not processed by Visa or certain commercial card transactions. Cardholders should notify their issuer promptly of any unauthorised Visa use.
[1] Source: VisaNet (December 2013)
[2] Average Visa payWave transaction including printing of receipt takes 4-6 seconds, compared with 12-14 seconds for cash (Visa Smart Card Deployment Study in Taiwan and Malaysia, conducted by Deloitte in 2006).
[3] Visa’s Zero Liability policy covers Australia and New Zealand-issued cards and does not apply to ATM transactions, transactions not processed by Visa or certain commercial card transactions. Cardholders should notify their issuer promptly of any unauthorised Visa use.