News from the Wire

U.S. Bank features Visa payWave on umembossed debit cards

Monday, August 03, 2009 — 15:08:03 (EDT)

Salt Lake City and Denver, Aug. 3., 2009 -- U.S. Bank is the first card issuer in the United States to add Visa® payWave® technology to an unembossed debit card that is issued instantly to an account holder upon opening an account. The instant-issue Visa payWave pilot is being tested at select U.S. Bank branches in Denver and Salt Lake City as part of U.S. Bank’s on-going innovation in payments.

“Exploring smart and convenient ways to streamline payments is one of our top priorities,” said Dominic Venturo, chief innovation officer at U.S. Bank Retail Payment Solutions. “Our customers have demonstrated great interest in any development that makes their lives easier, whether it’s by giving them a debit card the minute they open their account, or speeding up their time in a check out line. Our goal is to continue to innovate and provide them with proven payment tools now and in years to come.”

The pilot allows U.S. Bank and its customers to explore the benefits of combining three new technologies into one card – instant issuance, unembossed personalization and contactless payment. The instant issue debit card provides many benefits to the customer because the permanent debit card can be issued in the branch at the time the customer opens a checking account, rather than that same customer getting an initial temporary card, then waiting for the permanent one to arrive days later in the mail. Unembossed personalization provides greater security and customer satisfaction and Visa payWave allows the customer to pay for purchases by simply waving the card in front of a reader instead of swiping it, speeding up the payment process.

U.S. Bank chose the metropolitan areas of Denver and Salt Lake City for its strong U.S. Bank presence in both cities and because customers there are familiar with contactless payment. Many merchants currently offer Visa payWave readers as a payment option.

Visa provides the Visa payWave feature in this program, while Dynamic Card Solutions (www.instantissuance.com ) is providing the software and hardware necessary to personalize and issue the debit cards instantly at the branches.

The U.S. Bank branches participating in the pilot in Utah are located at 4135 South Redwood Road, 170 South Main Street and 888 East 4500 South in Salt Lake City, as well as 1884 North University Parkway in Provo and 7080 South Redwood Road in West Jordan. In Colorado, U.S. Bank branches at 950 17th Street in Denver and 8441 West Bowels Avenue in Littleton are participating.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB), with $266 billion in assets, is the parent company of U.S. Bank, the 6th largest commercial bank in the United States. The company operates 2,850 banking offices and 5,173 ATMs in 24 states, and provides a comprehensive line of banking, brokerage, insurance, investment, mortgage, trust and payment services products to consumers, businesses and institutions. Visit U.S. Bancorp on the web at www.usbank.com .

The Green Sheet Inc. is now a proud affiliate of Bankcard Life, a premier community that provides industry-leading training and resources for payment professionals. Click here for more information: bankcardlife.com?orid=33533&opid=1 .

Source: Company press release.