More and more 'will be attracted to contactless payments'
Credit cards and cash are set to be muscled out by the rise of contactless payments, Equifax predicted today.According to the credit reports firm, consumers will be increasingly attracted to the payment method, which can see items being purchased with a simple touch of a card - or a mobile phone - on to a sensor.In this way, it works in a similar way to the Oyster system on London's transport network.However, Equifax warned that the very ease and convenience of "going contactless" could leave the system vulnerable to fraud.Neil Munroe, external affairs director at Equifax, commented: "[Providers] want to make sure that nobody's affected by stealing that transaction information or somebody's ID but at the same time they will want to be aware that too many stages will turn people off Fraudsters will get into this area."According to official figures, there were 1.8 billion plastic card purchases made in the UK over April-June 2008. The £92.6 billion spend from these transactions was 7.8 percent higher than over the equivalent period of 2007.
Share this..
Related stories
Will sterling feel more pain in 2010?
There is growing concern for the UK currency in 2010 with a consensus view that UK base rates are unlikely to rise significantly before the end of 2010. This is a situation which has been brewing for some time and the vast majority of analysts believe the Bank of England will maintain base rates at 0.5% for many months to come. Not only will this impact upon savers, and the income they receive, bu...
Read MoreIs Northern Rock In Trouble Again?
After a period when troubled Northern Rock seemed to be getting itself back on a firm footing again there are signs that all may not be well at the Newcastle based bank. After the news that job loses are set to be increased to 2,000 (one third of the banks original 6,000 work force) there are concerns that the group may not be able to repay the governments loan in full. So what is going on?
Read More
Unions confront Lord Mandelson over Royal Mail
UK postal unions have today confronted Peter Mandelson whom they believe has refused to enter the fray with regards to the ongoing strike action purely and simply because his privatisation plans were scuppered some weeks ago. The UK government has been firmly behind the reorganisation of the Royal Mail and had intended to sell off a significant portion of the profitable side of the operation to an...
Read MoreOfcom leads the way with pay freezes and bonus cuts
In a surprising development it has been announced that telecoms regulator Ofcom has frozen pay levels for all staff and scrapped a number of bonuses which will save £900,000 in the coming year. The move has arisen because of negative inflation, pressure on the public sector budget and overall cost cuts across the telecoms industry. After months and months of suggesting that UK businesses should c...
Read MoreJoin our Webchat: "A nation in denial?" 3rd July at 3pm
Log in to our finances web chat and prepare for your future.
Now more than ever is the time to think long term when it comes to managing your money, yet it seems as a nation we're short-sighted. The saving message is gradually getting through, but almost half of us are still not saving adequately and those that do save are saving more for the short term.
Women are th...