la Caixa launches its TAP Visa contactless payment stickers in Barcelona

Some 200,000 users are expected to be operating with the system by the next World Mobile Congress

• Contactless TAP Visa stickers attach to the back of mobile devices and carry an EMV chip with encrypted card data.
• Customers can use the system to make payments at more than 50,000 retailers that carry contactless terminals.
• The bank has processed more than one million contactless payment transactions in Barcelona in less than a year.

"la Caixa" is set to roll out its new contactless payment system in Barcelona, based on TAP Visa stickers for mobile devices. The bank forecasts that 200,000 customers will be using the system by February, when the Mobile World Congress 2013 will be held.

The system is based on a TAP sticker that attaches to the back of mobile devices and is designed to provide secure data transfers. Inside the sticker is an EMV chip containing all the data required to complete payments as if the customer were using their card. The data transfer is fully encrypted and comes with complete security guarantees.

With the contactless TAP Visa, customers will be able to make payments using their mobile device in the same way as they would using their contactless card: by simply bringing the mobile device close to an in-store terminal to complete a transaction. If the transaction is over 20 euro the customer will be asked to enter their pin code into the terminal.

Regardless of the purchase amount, the system features the same security features and encryption as payment with a chip card. Furthermore, "la Caixa" extends its CaixaProtect guarantee, specific to the bank's electronic banking customers, to TAP payments, thus offering protection against fraudulent operations beyond the user's control. Customers will also receive an SMS reporting all transactions completed using the contactless TAP Visa.

"la Caixa" has developed a free application to accompany the system launch, which will be available from the "la Caixa" applications store, CaixaMóvil Store, as well as other download sites, in versions for iOs, Android and Blackberry. The TAP application allows users to manage their TAP Visa contactless transactions: view transactions, payment in instalments, etc.

Objective: to use innovation to create new payment services

"la Caixa" will begin rolling out the contactless TAP Visa system in December, with 5,000 customers taking part in the first stage of the project. In January TAP Visa sticker distribution will gradually be extended, reaching 200,000 users by February.

The bank's objective is to use innovation to create new payment services that provide greater value for customers and retailers. The contactless TAP Visa system offers greater usability for customers. At the same time, retailers benefit from the fast transaction times that come with the contactless system.

For "la Caixa" the roll-out of the contactless TAP Visa system represents further innovation success in the payment methods sector, in which "la Caixa" is considered a global leader. The Barcelona project will support contactless payments using all leading mobile models now available on the market, regardless of their particular specifications.

The initiative is one of the most ambitious mobile payment projects so far from a European bank, involving a large number of users under real-world conditions. It will also place Barcelona among the cities with the highest number of contactless transactions via mobile devices in the world.

"la Caixa", international leader in new contactless payment systems

"la Caixa" now has one of the largest contactless payment systems in Europe, with more than 1.12 million cards in circulation. These can be used to make payments at any retailer fitted with contactless terminals, whether these be "la Caixa" terminals or of any other provider: there are already more than 50,000 such retailers across Spain.

Since the contactless system was launched in Barcelona in January 2012, more than one million transactions have been completed, while the number of transactions of under 20 euro using the contactless card has grown by 15%. "la Caixa" has worked with the Barcelona City Council, the Metropolitan Taxi Institute and Mercats de Barcelona to roll out the contactless system to taxis and municipal markets.

Barcelona is also home to another world leading innovation: contactless ATMs developed by "la Caixa", the world's first bank to set up such a system. There are 730 multiservice terminals across Spain that can be operated without requiring users to enter their cards. These ATMs will now also work with the contactless sticker.

"la Caixa" is currently Spain's leading bank in terms of developing new payment methods. It has the largest number of electronic banking users (12.5 million card customers), the widest ATM network (10,000 terminals) and the highest number of online banking customers (8.6 million) and mobile banking customers (more than 2.8 million).

In 2011 "la Caixa" was named the world's most innovative bank at the Global Banking innovation Awards in Chicago (USA), run by the Bank Administration Institute and Finacle.