Contactless payment systems based on RFID technology

Contactless payment systems represent cashless payments that do not require physical contact between the devices used in consumer payment and POS terminals by the merchant. Radio frequency identification (RFID) devices can be embedded in the most different forms, as the form of cards, key rings, built into a watch, mobile phones. This type of payment supports the three largest payment system cards: Visa (Visa Contactless), MasterCard (MasterCard PayPass) and American Express (ExpressPay). All these products are compliant with international ISO 14443 standard, which provides a unique system for payment globally. Implementation of contactless payment systems are based on same infrastructure that exists for the payment cards with magnetic strips and does not require additional investments by the firm and financial institutions, other than upgrading the existing POS terminals. Technological solutions used for the implementation are solutions based on ISO 14443 standard, Sony FeliCa technology, RFID tokens and NFC (Near Field Communication) systems. This paper describes the advantages of introducing contactless payment system based on RF technology through pilot projects conducted by VISA, MasterCard and American Express Company in order to confirm in practice the applicability of this technology.