"MasterCard and Toshiba Launch Contactless Chip Module 13th May 2008
Designed using globally interoperable standards (ISO/IEC7816 and ISO/IEC14443), the chip module will be enabled with dual interface (EMV contact / PayPass contactless). The price gap will be kept to the minimum from the single EMV contact interface chip so that companies who currently adopt and deploy EMV contact chip can easily add and issue PayPass enabled cards with costs saved.
PayPass provides consumers with a fast and convenient alternative to cash for their everyday small purchases. Consumers simply tap their PayPass-enabled card or device on a specially equipped merchant terminal, eliminating the need to fumble for cash and coins, hand their card over to a clerk, or swipe the card. Signatures are not required for PayPass purchases under $25, further speeding customers’ transactions. PayPass also provides better record-keeping than cash. PayPass is ideal for quick payment environments where speed is essential, such as quick serve restaurants, gas stations, drug stores, vending machines, movie theaters, transit, and sports arenas.
PayPass transactions are just as safe as traditional payment card transactions. Due to the nature of a chip card, PayPass has a number of built-in safeguards. For example, a card will be blocked if it exceeds a certain number of consecutive transactions without a PIN being entered. That limit is decided by the issuing bank to reflect the individual cardholder’s usage and may take into account volume, value and/or a random element. When that limit is reached, the merchant’s terminal will request a PIN to confirm the user is the rightful owner of the card, meaning the card can no longer be used fraudulently for PayPass-enabled transactions.
On a physical level, PayPass provides more consumer control, since the card doesn’t actually have to leave the hands of the consumer to be swiped by a merchant. Additionally, the PayPass card or device must also be extremely close to the PayPass terminal to be read - typically within one to two inches.
For MasterCard customer companies, adoption of the chip module is easy, as it is enabled with M/chip 2, which is the most accepted version of M/Chip (application for IC card of MasterCard) among MasterCard customer companies in Japan.
Since its first launch in 2002, PayPass continues to gain strong momentum worldwide. As of Q108 there are over 28 million PayPass cards and devices and MasterCard PayPass enabled cardholders can enjoy their ‘Tap &Go’ shopping in use at more than 109,000 merchant locations worldwide. There are a number of PayPass trials and rollouts currently underway in 24 countries.
“Although contactless payment applications are common in Japan, they are specific to each vendor and therefore inconvenient for consumers since they are not compatible with systems used overseas,” said Kazuhiro Kubota, Senior Manager, Smart Card Systems Sales & Marketing Department, Toshiba Corporation. “PayPass,however, has been widely implemented worldwide by MasterCard, and Toshiba believes that the inherent convenience of the PayPass-enabled chip will make it very popular among Japanese card issuers and cardholders. Together with MasterCard, we look forward to further expanding the global reach of PayPass and delivering greater benefits to customers.”
MasterCard and Toshiba plan to launch the new chip module by the end of 2008. While Toshiba undertakes production, MasterCard will expand the chip module equipped cards in the market and further expand PayPass that enables customer more convenient and secure payment."
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