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Australia-based retailer Woolworths Ltd. can accept only its own contactless cards at its petrol pumps under a ruling from the country's antitrust authorities. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) approved a deal that allows consumers wishing to make contactless petrol purchases to use only Woolworths Everyday Money credit cards, which are issued by the Australian-arm of the United Kingdom-based banking group HSBC. The deal expires 15 Aug. 2010. The commission, which earlier this year opposed the exclusivity deal, now says the deal "underpins the introduction of a new and innovative payment technology which benefits users through its speed, convenience and efficiency," according to a statement from Graeme Samuel, the group's chairman. "The ACCC expects that consumers holding other contactless cards will be able to use [the contactless pumps] after that date," Samuel says. "The ACCC has also obtained a public commitment from Woolworths that it will negotiate in good faith with other contactless card issuers to enable their cards to be used at [the pumps]." Woolworths operates 263 stores with petrol pumps. HSBC began issuing the Woolworths card in September. The card carries the MasterCard Worldwide's PayPass application.
