(14 June 2012 – New Zealand) Within a year the Bank of New Zealand (BNZ) believes people should be able to replace credit cards with mobile phones, after an encouraging technology trial.Forty-four volunteers from BNZ, Vodafone and eftpos operator Paymark were issued with NFC-capable Samsung smartphones in November that they could use to make Pin-less, ‘tap and go’ Visa purchases at two cafes in Wellington and Auckland.
Owners of NFC mobiles hold their phone up to an eftpos terminal to make a payment, as they would a ‘contactless’ credit card or Snapper card.
One advantage of the mobiles over plastic bank cards is that they can be disabled if stolen, to prevent fraud. During the trial eftpos receipts were sent electronically to the phone, rather than being printed.
BNZ retail director Andy Symons said the trial had wrapped up and volunteers gave the technology the thumbs-up. Most preferred getting digital receipts, enjoyed not having to carry a wallet to the cafes and were happy for transactions valued at $50 or less not to require a Pin.
New Zealand Telcos; Paymark, Vodafone, Telecom and 2degrees announced in April that they intended to establish a joint venture to promote the technology and ensure interoperability across phones and retailers.
BNZ said its focus was on supporting that initiative. ‘Our experience from the trial puts BNZ in the position where we can help rapidly move New Zealand to a broadly accepted NFC payments capability,’ Symons said.