The in-store ads and point-of-sale material appear in EAT. this week and have already appeared in Subway’s London stores, with the aim of making the millions of contactless cardholders in the capital aware that they can make transactions quicker and easier. The marketing campaign and roll out of contactless in EAT. and Subway shops have been run in partnership with Barclaycard, the biggest provider of contactless payment terminals in the UK.
The campaign seeks to raise the profile of the contactless symbol, which is common to both the cards with the relevant technology and the retail outlets that are able to accept contactless payment.
Rene Batsford, Head of IT at EAT., said of the campaign:
“We see contactless as a major product differentiator – we can say to customers that choosing to pay contactless in EAT. will give you valuable lunchtime minutes to spend away from queues. But whilst we have the technology, thanks to Barclays and Barclaycard, we now feel we have to help inform customers how contactless works and some of the benefits that they can expect.”
Julie Pottier, Services Purchasing Manager at Subway, believes that the future is contactless:
“Subway is proud to be involved with the first generation of contactless payments and pleased to be part of a payment revolution that is making life easier and quicker for consumers. Subway is sold on the innovation, and we now want to educate our customers that contactless exists, how it works and where they can use it.”
Stuart Neal, Head of UK Payment Acceptance, Barclaycard, said:
“We are working with our retailers to champion contactless, helping raise consumer awareness of a step change in payment technology. With so many consumers already able to pay without the need to enter their PIN and more retailers discovering the benefits of adopting contactless payment, educating customers this year is going to be key, as the technology becomes more commonplace.”
The news of the in-store contactless marketing drive follows the recent announcement that Barclaycard will be installing contactless payment terminals in Wembley Arena, following its sponsorship of the entertainment venue.
About contactless
Contactless payment enables customers to make a purchase of £15 or less without the need to sign or enter a pin. Barclays and Barclaycard are leading the way in introducing contactless and there are now over six million contactless-enabled Barclaycards and Barclays debit cards, helping retailers reduce queuing and cut the cost of card transactions. In line with its history of providing customers with innovative payment forms, Barclaycard also intends to make payments by mobile phone available to the mass market by 2012.
Barclays and Barclaycard are the leading providers of contactless terminals in the UK with 20,000 live and accepting payment throughout the country for retailers including Prêt A Manger, Subway, Yo! Sushi and EAT.
To find out more about contactless payment, visit www.barclaycard.co.uk/contactless/ or www.Barclays.co.uk/contactless
Barclaycard, part of Barclays Global and Retail Banking division, is a leading global payment business which understands the needs of both purchasers and sellers. It enables retailers and merchants to accept cards, helps customers make payments through card, contactless and mobile applications as well as extending credit to consumers. The company is one of the pioneers of new forms of payments and is at the forefront of developing viable contactless and mobile payment schemes for today and cutting edge forms of payment for the future. It also issues credit and charge cards to corporate customers and the UK Government. Barclaycard partners with a wide range of organisations across the globe to offer their customers or members payment options and credit. In addition to the UK, Barclaycard operates in the United States, Europe and Africa.
Key facts published in August 2010;
- number of UK customers: 11.1m
- number of International customers: 10.5m
- number of retailer/merchant relationships: 85,000.