Tuesday 5th February, 2013

Over two million RBS and NatWest customers will receive Visa contactless cards starting from April and rolling out over the next year. Visa Europe will be supplying the banks with the technology for the contactless cards.

Today there are almost 30 million contactless cards in circulation in the UK and around 50 million in Europe. Contactless payments are accepted at more than 150,000 terminals in the UK and a total of 590,000 across Europe. By the end of 2013, there will be more than 70 million Visa contactless cards in use across Europe.

Mark Austin, Vice President - Contactless at Visa Europe, said: “Many major merchants like Marks & Spencer, the Post Office and London’s buses are now accepting contactless payment as the service becomes a high street reality. We are expecting to see contactless transaction volumes quadruple in 2013 as momentum in this exciting space continues to grow.”

Steve Rubenstein, Director of Everyday Banking at NatWest and RBS said: “Contactless payments will offer our customers speed and convenience for low value payments, making their day-to-day shopping experience much easier, with all the security and protection of any Visa product.”