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New Smart Card Alliance Brief Addresses the Significant Changes Contactless Technology Brings to the U.S. Payment Card Market

21 October 2005

Contactless payment is taking off in
the United States and its impact on the U.S. payment card market is
significant. Providing both perspective and background is a new position
paper -- The What, Who and Why of Contactless Payments -- from the Smart
Card Alliance Contactless Payments Council. The paper provides an overview
of market developments and explores the technology, benefits and security
features of contactless payments. It also explains and defines the correct
use of terms to foster a more accurate discussion about the features of
contactless technology.

Over the next few months, significant growth is expected in the adoption
and use of contactless payments in the U.S. According to the May 2005
Nilson Report, "There will be 5 to 7 million Visa and MasterCard
contactless chip cards in the market by year-end, and 15 to 20 million by
the end of 2006."

A contactless payment device contains a smart chip and an antenna. Instead
of swiping a payment card or handing a card to a cashier, consumers simply
hold the contactless device next to a contactless payment terminal
and the payment is quickly processed.

Contactless payment devices use smart chip technology and are convenient,
fast and secure. "They are an ideal solution for quick payment environments
where speed is essential, such as quick-service restaurants, gas stations,
drug stores, supermarkets and movie theaters," said Randy Vanderhoof,
executive director of the Smart Card Alliance. "And there's built-in
security. The smart chip is designed to protect the internal information
and any transactions made," he explained. "Plus, contactless payments are
built on the current credit and debit card payment infrastructure and
leverage their layered security systems."

Highlighted Links

The Smart Card Alliance

American Express, MasterCard and Visa USA have all launched contactless
payment initiatives and many of the nation's top national and regional
retailers, such as McDonald's, 7-Eleven and CVS, have deployed
point-of-sale terminals to accept the new contactless payment cards.

The Contactless Payments
Council was formed by the Smart Card Alliance to facilitate the
adoption of contactless payments in the U.S. through education programs for
consumers, merchants and issuers. The Council's projects will include web
briefings, workshops at trade shows and the development of white papers and
case studies.

The Council has compiled an extensive list of additional resources to
provide up-to-date information on the status of the contactless payments programs
being launched by the financial payments industry in the U.S. This list can
be found at the Alliance Web site.

The What, Who and Why of Contactless Payments paper,
along with the following additional Smart Card Alliance reports, are
available at no charge from the Smart Card Alliance Web site at
www.smartcardalliance.org.
-- Contactless Payment: Top Ten Questions answers frequently asked
questions about how contactless payment works, what the advantages are for
consumers, merchants and bank card issuers and how contactless payment
devices using smart chips differ from RFID tags.
-- Contactless Payments: Delivering Merchant and Consumer Benefits
profiles leading contactless payment initiatives including MasterCard
PayPass™ and ExpressPay from American Express and includes many
quantifiable results from actual field experience in these programs.
-- Contactless Payment and the Retail Point of Sale: Applications,
Technologies and Transaction Models provides a comprehensive look at
several contactless programs around the world and provides a detailed
analysis of the technologies used to implement the different programs.

About the Smart Card Alliance

The Smart Card Alliance is a not-for-profit, multi-industry association
working to stimulate the understanding, adoption, use and widespread
application of smart card technology. Through specific projects such as
education programs, market research, advocacy, industry relations and open
forums, the Alliance keeps its members connected to industry leaders and
innovative thought. The Alliance is the single industry voice for smart
cards, leading industry discussion on the impact and value of smart cards
in the U.S. and Latin America. For more information, please visit
http://www.smartcardalliance.org.

Media Contact:
Deb Montner
Montner & Associates
203-226-9290
Email Contact
SOURCE: The Smart Card Alliance