Barclaycard contactless strikes again

Following on from their campaign using the waterslide to promote their contactless cards, Barclaycard strikes again.

This time it was a surprise that popped out as I was looking through the shelves of our local newspaper shop.

Eyeing the shelves, this week's Retail Week stood out. 

It's not a magazine I would normally buy, but there was a wrap around advert over the front page that caught my eye:

Mmmmm, methinks, what's this?

Aha, it's Barclaycard getting the contactless message out there again, this time targeting the key audience: merchants.

And it's all backed up by their website which makes it sound so easy:

How accepting contactless payments helps your business

This innovative card reader lets customers pay for products that cost £10 or less, like a coffee or newspaper, in less than a second. Using contactless technology, small value transactions are processed securely at phenomenal speed, so you no longer miss out on sales because customers don't have enough change.

The benefits of going contactless

…for your business

• Card payments of £10 and under, are processed in less than a second.
• No authorisation, signature or PIN is required, unless cardholder details need to be verified.*
• Reduced queues allow you to serve more customers.
• Become the preferred retailer for contactless card users.
• Higher spend from customers who aren't limited by the change in their pocket.
• It uses the same secure network as chip and PIN.

…for your customers

• They always have the correct 'change'.
• No need to worry about PIN numbers or signatures, unless their details need verification.
• Shorter queues as customers are served faster.
• No contact is required, speeding up the transaction.
• Contactless keeps a record of their spend.

A step-by-step guide to using a contactless terminal

Any debit or credit card with the Wave symbol can be used to pay for products worth £10 or less, in these simple steps:

1. Cardholders simply touch their card to the reader and the payment is made.
2. This contactless payment is processed through the same secure network as chip and PIN.
3. The whole transaction is complete in under a second.

How to start accepting contactless payments

To join the revolution, all you need is a contactless reader at your checkout. It simply plugs into your existing chip and PIN terminal, for instant installation.

When other banks launch contactless payment cards, our reader will be able to accept those too, with no need to upgrade or change your terminal.

Just after posting this, I notice the mainstream Barclays Bank were hit with the old Lebanese Loop trick. Maybe they could learn a thing or two from their innovative brother.