Countdown customers will be able to pay using Visa payWave on Debit in a move by the supermarket to offer greater payment choice at the checkout. Debit cardholders can now take advantage of the speed and convenience of paying with Visa payWave at Countdown’s 179 supermarkets around the country where Visa payWave on Credit has been accepted since early 2013.
Countdown joins a significant number of New Zealand merchants accepting Visa payWave, which has proved popular with Kiwis since its introduction in 2011 with more than six million transactions now made on Visa payWave per month in New Zealand at more than 16,000 contactless terminals.
Visa Head of Emerging Payments & Innovation, George Lawson says acceptance of Visa payWave on Debit is part of an ongoing rollout of the technology which caters for a market demand for greater flexibility and choice in payments. “We have seen a rapid adoption of contactless payments in New Zealand. Improving the speed with which payments can be made at busy supermarkets contributes significantly to the customer’s satisfaction with their overall shopping experience. Contactless payments is the next step towards mobile payments, which will mean consumers will be able to pay via their mobile phone at contactless terminals.”
Visa payWave cards have an embedded antenna and microchip enabling fast and secure contactless communication with the checkout terminal. From there the transaction is processed through the same secure network used for all Visa transactions. Visa payWave transactions are also processed three times faster than cash payments.
Multiple layers of security underpin Visa payWave transactions including EMV chip technology, a short read range and Visa’s Zero Liability policy that protects cardholders from fraudulent or unauthorised transactions.
