SM customers can now experience convenient and faster transactions as SM, through its partnership with Visa, is now accepting contactless payments in all its department stores and affiliate stores without swiping their credit cards, signing the card sale slip and entering PIN.
The contactless payment technology requires Visa cardholders to simply tap their cards on a payment terminal and you’re on the go. In making a transaction, be sure your card has a contactless indicator or the technology to make contactless payments. Once transaction is set up, tap your card in front of the reader and when you hear the beep, the transaction is complete. There is no need to sign receipts for purchases below Php2,000. A transaction is said to be completed if a receipt for all transactions has been issued.
Designed to reduce the time of transaction by 60% for both cardholders and merchants, this innovation allows customers to pay for their purchases through 5,500 contactless terminals enabled across 59 SM Stores in 68 Supermalls across the country.
“This is the first time that a leading retail company is driving contactless at all its outlets in the Philippines, which is an important milestone for us. We want to show Filipinos how contactless payments can elevate and transform their shopping experiences,” says Stuart Tomlinson, Visa country manager for the Philippines and Guam. “Likewise, we believe contactless payments will also improve the productivity level for cashiers at various retail outlets so that the service staff can tend to customers faster and with ease.”
Customers can only use contactless payments at all SM department stores and affiliate stores nationwide for purchases under Php2,000. Tomlinson said the transaction is limited to purchases below Php2,000 to prevent the card from being abused when a customer loses it.
Tomlinson also said that in case a card is lost or stolen, the customer must inform the issuing bank to cancel the credit line or contact Visa, and have it replaced.
Contactless payments are secure because each sale has a unique identification code that protects payment information. Besides, the contactless card must be held in close proximity to the terminal for a transaction to take place.
