On Wednesday, ICICI Bank announced the launch of India’s first contactless debut and credit cards that make use of NFC (Near Field Communication) technology. This new concept will let users to make payments by simply waving their debit or card near the merchant terminals rather than swiping it.
NFC provides an enhanced convenience, faster speed and high security to the customers over the traditional cards. Moreover, these cards can complete a transaction at a faster speed and they are more secure as they remain with the customer itself.
ICICI has also introduced such credit and debit cards in cities such as Mumbai, Gurgaon andHyderabadinitially. It has also installed over 1,200 PoS machines that will be capable of accepting the contactless payments in the aforementioned cities.
ICICI bank has announced two cards with the NFC technology for contactless transactions and they are Coral contactless credit cards and Expressions wave debit cards. Both these new cards can be used as regular cards at the merchant terminals in the other cities where the contactless payment system is yet to be introduced.
Regarding the launch of contactless debit and credit cards with the new technology, ICICI Executive Director, Rajiv Sabharwal claimed that the bank expects these cards to be a major game changer in the payment industry as the prime advantages of these cards as speed and security. Moreover, they are powered by both MasterCard and Visa that are pretty popular.
The ‘ICICI Bank Coral Contactless Credit Card’ offers 2X reward points on dining, groceries and at supermarkets, dining offers at more than 800 restaurants and complimentary access to airport lounges among other benefits.
According to Uttam Nayak, Group Country Manager, India & South Asia, and Global Head Emerging Markets Digital, Visa, the contactless payments are designed to replace the use of cash in the current busy retail environments owing to speed and convenience that are significant factors. Some examples of such environments include supermarkets, convenience stores and quick-service restaurants.
The ICICI Bank Coral Contactless Credit Card provides offers 2X reward points on dining, groceries and at supermarkets along with complimentary access to airport lounges among other benefits. On the other hand, the ICICI Bank Expressions Wave Debit Card also comes with a host of benefits including dining offers at over 800 restaurants, complimentary access to airport lounges and free accident insurance and purchase protection.
