Spanish CaixaBank SA is launching its TAP Visa contactless payment system in Barcelona for use at La Caixa ATMs and POS terminals. The system is enabled by means of a smart chip-embedded TAP Visa sticker attached to the back of a mobile device.
Customers using the system simply tap their sticker-clad devices against an NFC-enabled contactless card reader. To date, La Caixa has deployed 730 contactless ATMs nationwide and approximately 50,000 contactless terminals throughout Barcelona.
Transactions of less than €20 ($26) are completed with a tap; larger transactions require the customer to enter a PIN for user verification. An SMS message confirms transactions made via the contactless TAP Visa sticker.
La Caixa also offers an application for iOS, Android and Blackberry devices that allows users to view account history and transactions.
CaixaBank said it will conduct an initial rollout of the contactless program to 5,000 customers starting in December, with a total of 200,000 users expected by February 2013, when the Mobile World Congress takes place in Barcelona.
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