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Barclays said Tuesday it would begin issuing contactless debit cards in March. The cards will carry Visa Inc.'s contactless payWave application and will go to existing and new debit card customers, the United Kingdom-based issuer says. Barclays expects some 3 million customers to have contactless debit cards by the end of 2009. Customers can use the card for contactless purchases of 10 UK pounds (US$14.90 or 11 euros) or less. Customers usually will not have to enter their PINs at terminals for such transactions, though Barclays says the chips in the cards "periodically" will prompt customers to enter PINs " to verify the customer's identity." Customers will have to use PINs for larger purchases and ATM transactions. The financial institution last year made a big push to issue more contactless credit cards and so far has issued at least 1 million, largely through issuing cards to customers gained when Barclays PLC bought the Goldfish brand from United States-based Discover Financial Services (CardLine Global, 2 Dec. 2008). Barclays says at least 8,000 merchants in the UK accept contactless cards, though at least one observer questioned whether enough retailers had the terminals needed for contactless payments. "The main thing holding back contactless payments at the moment is the lack of retailers that have the necessary card readers," Peter Harrison, a cards analyst for UK-based financial-comparison Web site MoneyExpert.com says in a statement. Barclaycard's move to issue contactless debit cards, however, should "encourage more shops to install the card readers," Harrison adds. Most contactless acceptance in the UK is found in the London area, though issuers such as Barclays are trying to expand the payment technology into other areas of the country.
