Paying for goods with notes and coins could be consigned to
history within five years, according to the chief executive of
Visa Europe.
Peter Ayliffe said that, by 2012, using credit and debit cards
should be cheaper and more convenient than cash.
Some retailers could soon start surcharging customers if they
choose to buy products with cash, because of the greater cost
of processing these payments, he warned.
Visa Europe briefed the British Retail Consortium last month
on new "contactless" cards that can be waved in front
of a scanner to make small payments.
However, the consortium dismissed this vision and claimed that
card processing fees, which regulators are investigating, are
still too high.
One member of the consurtium said that the estimated "interchange"
fee charged to retailers amounts to some 4p for each transaction.
Nick Mourant, treasurer at Tesco, said: "There is a duopoly
between Mastercard and Visa in the UK. Their setting of fees is
anti-competitive."
