Private sector ICICI Bank in arrangement with Tech Mahindra has announced the launch of a contactless payment service based on the Near Field Communications (NFC) technology.
The service is called, ‘Tap n Pay', and it enables anyone (account holder of ICICI Bank or not) to make over-the-counter payments without using cash. It allows users to just tap the NFC enabled tag or mobile phone at the merchant's point-of-sale device to make payments.
‘Tap n Pay' is a prepaid account, which can be availed by customers of any bank by simply registering for it and transferring money online from any bank account. ICICI Bank customers can also transfer money to the Tap-n-Pay account through an SMS. To start with, this solution is being offered at large campuses of corporate offices. ICICI Bank and Tech Mahindra have plans to extend this service across the country.
Rajiv Sabharwal, Executive Director, ICICI Bank said, “This initiative will offer a new, differentiated digital solution to replace cash for regular and small value payments made over the counter in large campuses. We believe that this service will offer users an unparalleled experience of making quick and safe payments like buying meal coupons at canteens with just a tap of their mobile phone or the NFC tag."
He added that tts usability is wide as it allows customer of any bank to register for ‘Tap-n-Pay' with no documentation or branch visit. It will additionally ease the day-to-day hassle of cash handling and currency change for merchants too. Once an organization has enrolled for the service, its employee only need to register online with their details to avail the facility and collect the NFC tag from the kiosk set up for this purpose.
