NatWest and RBS in full contactless roll-out

Visa, RBS and NatWest have followed up on a series of trials with a full roll out of contactless cards.

All customers whose cards are up for renewal are now eligible for a contactless card and those who are interested in receiving one can request it. The banks estimate that over two million RBS and NatWest customers will receive a contactless card over the next year as part of the project.

NatWest and RBS confirmed that a proportion of customers have had contactless Visa Debit cards since 2010 as part of a pilot. In 2012 contactless cards were issued to RBS England & Wales and NatWest Scotland customers.

Mark Austin, Visa Europe’s vice president of contactless, said: "Many major merchants including Marks & Spencer, McDonalds, the Post Office and London’s buses are now accepting contactless payment as the service becomes a high street reality. We are expecting to see contactless transaction volumes quadruple in 2013 as momentum in this exciting space continues to grow."

There are currently 26 million Visa contactless cards in circulation in the UK and around 50 million in Europe. The issuer predicted that by the end of 2013 it will be producing more than 70 million Visa contactless cards across the continent.

Related articles:

MasterCard claim 2012 Contactless expansion

Contactless cards now accepted on London buses

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