Purchases With A Wave Of A Bank Card

Seung Hwa Hong reports for the Seattle Times on new contactless card technologies.

"There are many, many people interested in this concept," said Carl Stauffenenger, senior vice president of product management for Key consumer-product development. "People like it for the speed and convenience, and they see it's cool."

MasterCard's PayPass, American Express' ExpressPay and Visa's Contactless cards — the only three cards available so far — tout convenience and speed, factors that translate into higher revenue because, studies show, consumers spend more when they use cards than when they use cash.