IDFC First Bank to launch contactless debit card payment on phone next week

IDFC First Bank on Wednesday said it will launch contactless debit card-based payment facility, SafePay, next week allowing transactions up to Rs 20,000 per day.

IDFC First Bank is set to launch the digital facility that will allow payments by simply waving one's smartphone against a near field communication (NFC)-enabled PoS terminal, the bank said in a release.

Users can simply wave, pay and go, making the payment process not only touch-free but also faster, simpler and safer, it said. The bank also claimed it is the first such facility to be made available in an integrated mobile banking app.

The feature has been tested successfully and certified by Visa and it will be available to users on the bank's mobile app in the next one week, said the private sector lender.

SafePay enables contactless payments of up to Rs 2,000 per transaction and up to a limit of Rs 20,000 per day, it said.

"So far, convenience has been driving the adoption of digital payments. Now, the pandemic has quickened this pace. We see the tap-to-pay technology as significant in this digital play," said Amit Kumar, head (retail liabilities) at IDFC First Bank.

He added that for a cardholder, it does away with the need for a physical debit card, and thereby, eliminates concerns about loss of cards.

Arvind Ronta, head (products) for India and South Asia, Visa, said, "As consumers make a preference shift to digital, payment providers should be able to service any payment need, whether through physical cards or the near ubiquitous smartphone. And to meet such needs, we...enable tokenised tap to pay transactions for IDFC First Bank customers."

Ronta added that Visa has issued over a billion tokens globally and its clients have seen a fraud reduction rate of 26 per cent for transactions processed through the Visa Token Service.

The facility is set to be available for resident saving account holders having Visa cards and IDFC First mobile app on NFC-enabled Android device with OS 5 and above.