Woolworths and Dick Smith has partnered with Visa in a move to allow contactless card payments for transactions up to $100 across its entire retail empire.
The retail giant has released a request for proposals for vendors interested in a project to replace 30,000 integrated PIN pads over the next few months with terminals that can accept Visa’s payWave contactless payments.
The payment terminals will allow shoppers to swipe a card in front of a terminal for low-value transactions. The payWave cards will be accepted without a PIN or signature for transactions up to $100.
The company said it would start retro-fitting the payment terminals later this year in Woolworths supermarkets, Big W department stores, Caltex petrol stations, Dick Smith technology stores and a number of liquor outlets, including BWS, Dan Murphy’s and Woolworths Liquor.
A spokesman for Visa said payWave-enabled cards are already available from ANZ, NAB, Westpac, Macquarie Bank and a range of credit unions and building societies.
Other retailers accepting the cards at some outlets include JB Hi-Fi, Dymocks, McDonalds, IGA and Red Rooster. Users need to look for the payWave logo at the checkout and need to let the cashier know they intend to use a contactless card.
While Woollies has gone for the contactless system, rival Coles appears to be taking another route. In Melbourne it has been trialling the Fast Pay technology which allows purchases of up to $35 to be made with a conventional credit or debit card, but without the need for a PIN or signature verification, thus speeding transactions and shortening checkout queues.
