Op 22 november gepubliceerd in de AP Online (via Ron Onrust). Een artikel over een draadloos identificatiemechnisme tbv betaling in restaurants. Het lijkt op easypay, maar is nog makkelijker omdat geen pincode nodig is.
Bank of America Corp., one of the largest banks in the United States, has launched a pilot program that could turn out to be either another step in the evolution of a cashless economy or a total bust. The program, called QuickWave, involves about two dozen downtown restaurants and shops located near Bank of America's Charlotte, N.C.headquarters. Bank-installed equipment allows diners or customers to pay for their sandwich or greeting card by waving a small card on their keychain over a blue sensor pad. The test market involves about 10,000 Bank of America employees who eat and shop near work.
QuickWave is not a credit or debit card, so customers don't swipe it through a machine, punch in a PIN number or sign a receipt. It's connected to customers' bank credit cards or debit cards so the charges show up on their monthly bank statement. Moments after they wave it over the pad, customers get a confirmation and a receipt.
Experts compare QuickWave to the successful Exxon Mobil Speedpass program, which has been around for years and has been expanded. Speedpass customers sign up to link their cards to their credit cards, and use Speedpass to pay for gas and other items at convenience stores.
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"Some people have told me they are worried about losing the card and not realize it's missing," said Kathy Friese, co-owner of The Bookmark, a bookstore located in Founders Hall in the Bank of America Corporate Center. "They don't know how much money they could be liable for if they misplace it." The answer is zero, Gagnon said.
Just like the bank's other cards, she said, QuickWave offers zero liability for customers who promptly report lost, misplaced or stolen cards. Friese thought some of her regular customers would use QuickWave to purchase inexpensive items like greeting cards. Instead, she said, customers use it to purchase books costing as much as $50. The bookstore averages around five or six QuickWave transactions per day, she said.
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The pilot program will run through Dec. 31 and the results will determine whether Bank of America will expand it nationally to owners of Bank of America credit cards and debit cards. At that time, merchants would have to pay for the sensor equipment.
