A new contactless way of making payments (the transaction is performed by dint of RF channels rather than magnetic scanning) has come to be known as VISA payWave.

‘The brand will probably be quite popular with VISA’s English-speaking customers since the name clearly reflects the method and the convenience of such payments: a payment which is made at a wave of a hand. A card holder only needs to wave their Visa card in front of a secure reader (much in the manner of a magnetic key) and the transaction is done,’ SKB-Bank’s Card Director Evgeniy Belichenko says.

PayWave is a great addition to or replacement of the conventional magnetic scanners used at retail stores or cafes and anywhere where great numbers of customers need to be checked out quickly. Mr. Belichenko, however, is somewhat sceptical about payWave becoming commonplace in Russia.

‘VISA payWave is only expected to be launched in London at the end of the year; only then will it actually be introduced in Europe. As for Russia, our VISA users will only be able to appreciate all the benefits of the system in 2008 at the soonest,’ he says.