A Better Way to Pay: Go Contactless with Visa payWave

MUMBAI:
Over the past year, the payments industry in India has undergone a period of rapid change, with new technologies and innovations transforming the way we pay. People are slowly and steadily adopting these new methods, and driving India towards a Cashless Economy. Yet these payment methods require you to do a bit of homework.
Sample this. It takes around 30 seconds to complete an across the counter cash payment, including the time it takes to pull the money out of your wallet, look for change and ensure the money is safely tucked in. However, it takes around three seconds to conduct the same transaction using a contactless card, including the time to pull out your wallet which contains your contactless card, tap against the terminal and tuck it back in. With just 1/10th the time, compared to a traditional cash transaction, contactless payments through Visa payWave are undoubtedly here to stay.
“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, petrol stations and quick-service restaurants. This is particularly suited for countries like India which have high traffic pressures on a routine basis. Consumers have been welcoming the convenience and security that contactless transactions provide”, said TR Ramachandran, Visa Group Country Manager for India and South Asia.
Visa payWave card is your existing Visa debit card, issued by your bank, and upgraded with contactless technology. For transactions up to ? 2,000, Visa payWave cardholders can use their contactless cards without having to enter the pin, or sign a transaction receipt. With small ticket payments now made easier, your wallet becomes your payment partner.
For any transaction above ? 2,000, you will be asked to key in your PIN for extra security and personal protection.
A contactless card is as safe as your chip-based card: a multi-layer protection by Visa where each transaction has a unique and secure encryption, so no transaction can be processed twice. When using a contactless card, a payment is initiated after the merchant inputs an amount in the Visa card reader machine with a “ ” symbol. For the transaction to be read by the machine, the card should be placed in proximity to the card reader, which is 4 cm or less. The transaction is then processed through Visa’s global, secure network, VisaNet, which processes all Visa transactions, and the payment is made without your Visa card leaving your hand.
As this card is already linked to your existing bank account, with all KYC in place, it reduces the hassles of re-doing the entire KYC process, unlike new digital payments platforms. Visa payWave contactless will contribute to greater use of debit cards on POS terminals that were formerly just used for cash withdrawals from ATMs, and will provide customers with a new payment solution with a simple wave of the card on a contactless reader.
With the Reserve Bank of India’s deadline of December 31, 2018 to convert your existing magnetic strip card to a chip based card, customers can ask for a contactless card, currently being issued by 23 banks in the country. Now Indian consumers can enjoy a new and faster way to pay at supermarkets, for dining, at entertainment venues and with retailers.