Banking

Three type of cards allow for contactless payment: the credit/debit Cards (issued by banks for debit/credit services), e-purses (reloadable multi-purpose prepaid card issued by banks and dedicated to small payments) and prepaid tokens cards (issued by a service provider and restricted to transactions with service provider and used for small payments used in vending machine, parking, tolls, etc.).

Millions of consumers are already paying for purchases using contactless payment systems. American Express (ExpressPay™), MasterCard (PayPass™), Diners, Visa, and Japanese JCB have introduced contactless payment solution based on the ISO/IEC 14443 standard and relying on the existing credit/debit card infrastructure to process contactless payment transactions. Consumers love the convenience and speed of paying with a contactless card. They do not need to carry cash, counting change, or worrying about whether they have enough cash for a purchase.

According to Ariana Michele-Moore of the U.S.-based research firm Celent Communications, three market segments are particularly ripe for the introduction of contactless payment: fast food restaurants, movie theaters, and video stores. These segments generated $160 billion in sales in the United States in 2002, of which almost 95% were cash sales. According to Michele-Moore, by 2007 contactless devices will account for 8% of the market represented by these three segments.

According to theSmart Card Alliance , the current contactless payment pilot programs are demonstrating that payments using contactless smart cards brings real benefits to both consumers and merchants

The consumer benefits are:

	Faster check-out times
	Easier to use: no signature necessary, no PIN to remember, no need to carry or check for correct change
	Choice of form factors (card, key chain attachment, mobile phone, etc.)
	More purchasing ability and no limitation of available cash
	Possibility to pay for low-value transactions using a credit card, and consequently, to track for low-value transactions
	Improved security: the card remain in the consumer’ control throughout the transaction, so the card information are not disclosed to the retailer