RBS trials contactless RFID-style debit cards

The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and MasterCard are to trial an RFID-based contactless debit card to replace cash for low-value payments.

The trial of the Oyster card-style payment system begins next week at RBS' head office campus in Edinburgh, which contains a number of retail outlets for its 3,000 staff based there.

The retail stores taking part include Starbucks and Tesco Express. The bank said 1,000 staff have so far applied for one of the specially adapted Maestro chip and PIN debit cards.

An aerial in the card transmits the data to a reader at the retail store and RBS staff taking part in the pilot project will only have to wave their debit card against the reader when paying for goods instead of signing a receipt or entering a PIN number.

RBS spokesman David Outhwaite told silicon.com: "It means consumers don't need to have a pocket full of change and it's a speedier system for retailers."

The system will only be available for transactions up to £10 and there will be random security checks where users will be asked to enter their PIN number to confirm they are the cardholder.

The MasterCard-led initiative has been trialled elsewhere around the world but the RBS pilot, which is due to run for the rest of the year, is the first time it has been used in the UK.

Outhwaite said the aim of the trial is to look at eliminating the need for money for low-value transactions as part of the move towards a "cashless society".

He said: "It's to see how UK consumers use it and how it works in different environments."