Toronto-Dominion Bank plans to add contactless capabilities to the smart cards it is testing as part of a trial of the Europay, MasterCard, Visa security standard.
The company said Thursday that it would incorporate Visa Inc.'s payWave technology into the smart cards being evaluated in Kitchener and Waterloo, Ontario.
The first contactless smart cards are expected to be issued to customers in April.
Several Canadian companies are participating in the EMV trial. The cards typically require cardholders to enter a PIN at the point of sale to authorize purchases. However, the PIN requirement will be waived for transactions authorized using payWave.
Toronto-Dominion said the contactless capability is expected to be used for purchases of up to about $25.
The bank's merchant services unit has started installing contactless card readers at merchant sites in Kitchener and Waterloo.
Toronto-Dominion said it is the first merchant acquirer in Canada certified by Visa Canada to offer payWave acceptance.
Jim Sallas, a senior vice president for personal lending with Toronto-Dominion, said in a press release that his company is "the only financial institution in Canada to offer both Visa payWave-enabled products and point of sale acceptance, and we're certain our TD Visa cardholders and merchants will enjoy the benefits of this simple and fast payment solution."
