Coles today has announced a consumer trial for their latest contactless credit card technology. No, no, this does not involve NFC (Near Field Communication), though it has a similar “scan, tap, and go” promise.
At the moment, you can already pay with your credit card at Coles supsermarkets simply by tapping onto the payment terminal (PayPass) which has sped up the payment process quite marginally (especially on the self-serve checkouts).
This new technology will be trialled to a sample group of 5,000 customers. To pay, one simply has to stick a Coles Pay Tag sticker with a unique barcode on their smartphone. It promises similar experience with PayPass, except that you don’t have to take your wallet out this time (though you still do need to take your phone out). From the press release I got today, it appears that you are required to install either an iOS or Android app. No Windows Phone app is mentioned yet.
The Coles MasterCard Pay Tag can be used in Coles, Coles Express, or retail locations worldwide that accept MasterCard PayPass.
I hope that the sticker tag does not leave any residue or bad marks on the phone though. It’s too early to tell but I’m sure they must have thought this out. Is this something you want to use though?
