Contactless payment is a technology more brands are adopting into their retail* spaces.
For me, this is direct evidence that the promise of "convenience" is now far, wide and even more expected by customers/ shoppers.
In the US, Visa has just recently launched their contactless payment alternate for New Yorker commuters using a bus, subway, train and taxi. Payment can be made via a pay-wave card or by downloading an app to their smart phone. According to the article in Mobile Commerce Daily "the programs in New York and New Jersey are part of Visa’s long-term strategy of extending the speed, security and convenience of Visa acceptance to new locations."
To a different type of Subway, contactless and cashless payment is starting to evolve more rapidly particularly in high-demand convenience industries such as QSR. In countries such as Asia (think Japan and Korea) and the USA it's helping to facilitate easier customer transactions. Customer benefits include convenience (ie: 'order ahead'), speed and personalised service whilst restaurants are being attracted by increased revenue from larger order sizes (evidence from GoMobo points to this), faster order handling and greater opportunity to build & retain loyalty.
* retail = defined as anywhere a transaction occurs (not just a physical store)
