Visa runs contactless card trials in Malaysia

The launch follows the late 2003 trial rollout of American Express' ExpressPay service in Singapore. Visa Wave dispenses with the need for cardholders to sign or hand over their card to a cashier. Cardholders hold the card in front of a special reader, which logs payment. The cards work on radio frequency, like Hong Kong's Octopus card. Visa Wave is available from MBF Cards in Malaysia, which will issue 2,000 cards to its cardholders. There are currently more than 150 merchant locations in Kuala Lumpur, which accept Visa Wave. The trial will run until the end of August. If it is successful, Visa plans to introduce it elsewhere in Asia. Said Gordon Cooper, head of products, Visa Asia Pacific: "Our research shows that consumers expressed an interest in using a contactless card for quick and easy payment of low-ticket purchases such as in supermarkets and convenience stores. Visa Wave is designed to drive card payments into traditionally cash-based retail environments where speed and convenience are important." Cooper said Malaysia was chosen because it was "one of the most aggressive markets in the world in terms of chip deployment. The country is rapidly approaching full conversion to an EMV (global smart card standard) infrastructure, under the leadership of the Association of Banks in Malaysia and Bank Negara Malaysia, the central bank". Last year, Visa conducted focus group research among consumers between the ages of 20 and 35 in Malaysia to test the appeal of contactless cards. Consumers surveyed expressed an interest in using contactless cards for quick and easy payment of low-ticket purchases. The survey showed that supermarkets and fast food chains were among the top retail locations to benefit from contactless payments. MasterCard has also rolled out a trial launch of its contactless card technology -- PayPass -- which is tested in Florida but not in Asia-Pacific.