Oberthur Technologies has officially launched a new Visa payWave contactless payment program with the People’s Bank of Georgia (vide news People’s Bank of Georgia Issued First in СЕМЕА Visa payWave Contactless Card). The Bank’s ‘Voyage Card’ combines contact ‘Chip and PIN’ payment with Visa’s payWave contactless payment application, enabling the cardholder to pay simply by placing their card in front of a reader. The card also offers MIFARE ticketing for use in public transport, putting it at the forefront of convergent technologies for payment. Combined with the visual impact of Hot Foil Stamping technology, the Voyage Card will offer the People’s Bank an effective marketing tool to create a “top of wallet” card that will in turn improve both customer frequency and loyalty.
The Voyage Card is also the first Visa payWave contactless card in the world to use Oberthur Technologies’ state-of-the-art ‘Hot Foil Stamping’ card design technique, which provides the People’s Bank with a new look for their card without any risk of transaction interference. Part of the card’s design, (a world map) is stamped with holographic material onto the card’s surface. This creates a high-definition embossed holographic imprint that provides an eye-catching visual for the cardholder.
The bank plans to issue cards to students and teachers in Tbilisi, a key customer segment for the bank to encourage the use of contactless technology, and plans to rollout Visa payWave in pharmacies, railway stations, fast food stores, schools and universities. Contactless replaces cash for low value payments, the most common transaction type in Europe today. It shortens transaction times and shop checkout queues, creating critical time savings not only for shoppers, but also for merchants, by increasing in-store discretionary spending. The Voyage Card’s MIFARE application also allows the user to purchase personalized e-tickets for use in Tbilisi’s public transport system.
“The People’s Bank of Georgia is extremely satisfied with the role played by Oberthur Technologies in this very important project both for the bank and for the country as a whole,” comments George Glonti, CEO of the People’s Bank, “Oberthur has been a reliable and supportive partner during this project, and the international experience, technical innovation and expertise of Oberthur technicians enabled us to issue the first VISA payWave Card in the CEMEA region - a historic and spectacular event in the card industry”.
“The Visa payWave project with the People’s Bank clearly illustrates that Oberthur’s innovative technologies in contactless payment and smart plastics have real-world applications that will push the payment industry forward” states Frederic Chevreton, Head of the Payment Product Line, Card Systems Division at Oberthur Technologies. “In this important region for the payment industry, consumers will be able to take advantage of the versatility, speed and security of contactless payment, as well as the flexibility of converged payment and public transport applications”.
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