Compass Group North America to Accept Visa payWave at the Point of Sale

No More Fumbling for Cash – new Payment Technology Allows Customers to Complete Secure Transactions Faster and Easier.

CHARLOTTE, N.C., March 3 /PRNewswire/ — Compass Group North America today announced that it is making the purchasing process faster and easier for its customers by accepting Visa payWave, a feature on Visa cards that enables cardholders to make a purchase by simply holding their Visa payWave-enabled card near a secure reader at checkout instead of swiping it.

Throughout 2009, Compass Group North America will deploy Visa payWave-accepting ViVOtech 4500M contactless readers at check-out lanes across its foodservice locations – making them one of the nation’s leading foodservice management contractors to bring the added speed and convenience of contactless to the point of sale.

Visa payWave transactions use a micro chip embedded in the card to send payment information rapidly and securely over an extremely short distance to the point of sale reader. All other aspects of the contactless transaction are handled in the same way as a traditional credit or debit payment transaction.

“Our on site cafeterias typically handle large groups of people at lunchtime and our operators need best use of technology to maximize speed of service to our customers to enhance their dining experience,” said Rob Watkins, CIO, Compass Group North America. “By expanding payment options to include Visa payWave, we are able to offer not only convenience but peace of mind from using a secure system.”

Visa payWave provides greater convenience to Compass Group North America’s customers by eliminating the need for a signature for most payments under $25, while cardholders receive all the same security protections the industry has come to expect from Visa, including zero liability for fraudulent charges and Visa’s industry leading anti-fraud technology. Also, cardholders making purchases at Compass Group North America’s corporate cafes with Visa payWave enjoy additional layers of security because the card never leaves the customer’s hand, can only be read at extremely close proximity to a contactless reader, and uses data that is unique to each contactless transactions.

In addition to improving the shopping experience for its customers, Visa payWave payments can enable Compass to process more transactions in less time and can improve operating efficiencies.

“Visa is pleased to be working with Compass Group North America to deliver the next generation of payment technology,” said Stephanie Ericksen, Senior Business Leader, Product Deployment at Visa Inc. “Visa payWave enables merchants to offer greater choice in payments, as well as speed and convenience at the point of sale – a great win for both merchants and cardholders.”

About Compass Group North America

Based in Charlotte NC, Compass Group North America is the leading foodservice and support services company with more than $9 billion in revenues in 2008. With 388,000 associates worldwide, its parent company, UK-based Compass Group PLC had revenues of 11 billion pounds Sterling in the year to September 30, 2008. www.cgnad.com

About Visa Inc.

Visa Inc. operates the world’s largest retail electronic payments network providing processing services and payment product platforms. This includes consumer credit, debit, prepaid and commercial payments, which are offered under the Visa, Visa Electron, Interlink and PLUS brands. Visa enjoys unsurpassed acceptance around the world, and Visa/PLUS is one of the world’s largest global ATM networks, offering cash access in local currency in more than 170 countries. For more information, visit www.corporate.visa.com

SOURCE Compass Group North America