Visa payWave to pump up speed and convenience at Petro-Canada locations

Visa's contactless payment method also offers the security benefits of chip technology

TORONTO, Oct. 29 /CNW/ - Visa announced today that Petro-Canada, a Suncor Energy business, has joined a growing roster of Visa payWave contactless payment enabled merchants. Canadians will soon be able to purchase gas and other items at Petro-Canada locations by simply waving their Visa payWave-enabled chip card in front of a contactless terminal. 

All paypoints - including gas pumps and in-store check-out counters - at Petro-Canada's approximately 1,500 locations across Canada will be equipped with Visa payWave enabled terminals by late December 2010.  All Greater Toronto Area Petro-Canada locations will be equipped with Visa payWave by the end of October 2010.

"The speed, convenience and security of contactless payments have fueled the growth of Visa payWave in Canada," said Mike Bradley, Head of Products, Visa Canada. "Visa payWave contactless technology allows payments to be transacted faster which is essential when you're at the pump or paying for small-ticket items."

Contactless payments deliver speed and convenience to participating merchants and Visa cardholders while offering the security benefits inherent in chip technology. Visa payWave cards employ EMV chip technology, which uses a standard 128-bit encryption technology, to securely store and encrypt confidential information. Each time a Visa payWave payment is made, a unique transaction code is generated, which has to be verified through the reader before a transaction can be completed. Further, Visa cardholders reduce the risk of fraud as they retain control of the card during the transaction.

The deployment of Visa payWave enabled Visa cards and point-of-sale terminals is closely aligned with Visa's migration to chip card technology in Canada. To find out more about the chip technology, Visa encourages merchants to speak with their acquirer or payment processor or visit Visa.ca/Merchant.

About Visa

Visa is a global payments technology company that connects consumers, businesses, financial institutions and governments in more than 200 countries and territories to fast, secure and reliable digital currency. Underpinning digital currency is one of the world's most advanced processing networks—VisaNet—that is capable of handling more than 10,000 transactions a second, with fraud protection for consumers and guaranteed payment for merchants. Visa is not a bank, and does not issue cards, extend credit or set rates and fees for consumers. Visa's innovations, however, enable its financial institution customers to offer consumers more choices: Pay now with debit, ahead of time with prepaid or later with credit products. For more information, visit www.corporate.visa.com.

For further information:

Sarah Van Lange, Fleishman Hillard, 416-645-8173, [email protected]