Visa Contactless Technology Arrives in Latin America

The contactless payment program will serve as a basis for similar applications in other markets, reaching a cash - dominated segment with an estimated value in LAC of more than $42 billion annually, according to estimates by Datamonitor Contactless Payments 2006.

"Contactless technology has been implemented successfully in several regions around the world, and in Latin America, it will support our strategy to increase acceptance and usage of Visa products in fast-food restaurants, movie theatres and other small ticket segments. As the leader in the electronic payment industry, Visa is proud to make its first contactless transaction a reality in the region," said Marco A. Zeledon, Executive Vice President, Visa International Latin America and Caribbean Region. "We are making sure that our members and merchants have the ability to offer current innovations to their customers, making payment transactions faster and more convenient and secure than ever. Contactless is a technology that benefits the entire payment chain - members, merchants, and cardholders."

During the first three months, consumers will be able to experience first-hand the benefits of contactless technology. According to results in similar Visa programs in Asia and the United States, contactless payments are usually 12 to 18 seconds faster than cash transactions, with an average ticket purchase of 33% higher than cash payments.

Visa Contactless employs industry-standard technology to deliver a secure application specific to the payments marketplace that transmits payment information over extremely short distances to a contactless reader at the point of sale. To use, cardholders simply hold their card near a secure reader at checkout and no signature is required. All other aspects of the contactless transaction are handled in the same way as a traditional Visa transaction.

Significant consumer and merchant demand for contactless payments has made the Visa Contactless platform one of the most rapidly adopted payment innovations in Visa history. To date more than 6.5 million Visa-branded contactless payment cards have been issued worldwide - underscoring the continued migration away from cash.