Visa payWave transactions have tripled over the past 12 months, with more than three million contactless payments made in September.

Visa country manager for New Zealand and South Pacific Caroline Ada said that it has been less than one year since payWave reached the one million transactions a month mark.

“With more retailers offering Visa payWave, customers are finding they can use their card in more places and they love the speed and ease of it all,” she said.

With more than 16,000 terminals across NZ, the ability to process payments quickly and securely is also appreciated by merchants.

Foodstuffs New Zealand group GM marketing Steve Bayliss said that customers find Visa payWave is convenient and gives them more time to enjoy their shopping trip.

“New World and Pak’nSAVE stores will be rolling out Visa payWave over the next few months with all stores offering the service by the end of 2015,” he said.

Ada said that the support from retailers and banks is a key part of the success of Visa payWave.

With mobile technology soon to revolutionise the payments market, Visa is working with its banking and merchant stakeholders and other payment providers to bring the best solutions to the market.

Due to the high levels of smartphone use, and the growing Visa payWave footprint, Ada said NZ is an ideal market for mobile payments.