Customers of the ANZ Bank in Samoa now have the convenience of tap and go payments here and overseas.

It follows the bank's announcement that it has introduced contactless payments to Samoa and six other Pacific countries with ANZ Visa Debit cards.

Contactless is a payment method that securely transmits purchase information via a tiny antenna embedded in the card. 

ANZ customers can ‘tap and pay’ at a contactless payment terminal anywhere in the world without entering their PIN for transactions under the $60 tala limit. 

Customers will still be able to swipe or insert their card when required.

ANZ Samoa Country Head, Bernard Poort, said contactless payments increase convenience for customers and reduce the risk of cash handling as a means of preventing the risk of spreading Covid-19.

“We’ve seen Covid-19 act as a catalyst in other countries where customers have embraced contactless payments over cash, as awareness grows that touching cash and point-of-sale keypads is a potential source of infection,” Mr. Poort said in a statement issued by the bank.

“Contactless payments also reflect the shift we are seeing in our customers’ shopping preferences. More and more, people are choosing to move away from cash. Contactless payments enable businesses to adapt to these preferences and open up to more online transactions at the same time.”

Mr. Poort also emphasised that using contactless payments makes transactions even more secure.

“With contactless payments, the card never leaves the customers’ hands and the advanced chip technology makes transactions more secure than a traditional magnetic stripe card”.

A unique feature of the new ANZ Visa Debit cards is the incorporation of accessibility features for ANZ’s visually impaired customers. These include braille - two dots on the Visa debit card - so that customers with impaired vision can distinguish the card from others. The high visibility edge and cut out notch on the side of the card also help customers insert their card into ATMs and sales terminals correctly.

 ANZ Regional Executive for the Pacific, Tessa Price said ANZ has been working hard to include accessibility considerations in its product design.

 “At ANZ, our purpose is to shape a world where people and communities thrive. Including accessibility features such as braille helps the wider community when it comes to using our products and we’re proud to introduce braille on our cards in the Pacific.”

For more information, please visit www.anz.com/Samoa.