Credit card holders have been able to “tap-and-go” with their Visa or MasterCards for some time, and now some Interac card holders will be able to do the same with their debit cards.
Interac announced yesterday that Scotiabank and RBC Royal Bank debit card holders will be the first in Canada to have Interac’s new contactless debit payment function on their cards.
Rather than inserting their cards and entering a PIN, cardholders will now be able to swipe the card over a reader to make payments on purchases under $20.
The new functionality will be available at merchants that have point-of-sale terminals that support Interac Flash, and should greatly increase the speed of debit card transactions and increase the use of debit cards in Canada. It noted an estimated $90 billion in cash payments are made for purchases under $20.
TD Merchant Services said it would provide merchants with POS terminals that accept Interac Flash starting in early 2011.