In a series of announcements Barclays Bank in the UK has signalled its intent to become a market leader in the growth of contactless payments, both via cards and mobiles. The announcement has been welcomed in the card technology community. Cameron Olsen, VP business development, Smart Technology Solutions (STS), commented: "Contactless payments have been relatively slow to be adopted, despite consumer interest and it being the ideal stepping stone to mobile payments is very welcome... For contactless payments to be successful in the UK market we see a relatively simple equation, making sure card holders have contactless cards (and know how to use them) and ensuring that they have a large number of places to use them. To achieve this, everyone needs to do their bit, the banks need to issue the cards, the retailers need to invest in the technology and the acquirers need to make sure that the retailers can access the technology through low cost means. "
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