As the business world matures in the technologically-advanced 21st century, one area that is gaining more and more steam is contactless payments. Whether it is because this particular technology actually makes commerce easier or because it just seems like a cool science fiction-type tech, reports are showing that contactless payments are only going to increase over the next several years. Of course, near field communication (NFC), contactless and mobile payments have been on the upswing for several years now and one way they will continue to grow is if the number of companies that embrace the tech continues to grow.

This year a new company, OP-Pohjola Group, will join the fray. OP-Pohjola Group has announced that sooner rather than later, they will be perfecting their own payment cards that utilize contactless payments without the need for a PIN. These payment cards will be able to be held 2 to 3 centimeters away from a payment terminal and broadcast that payment information wirelessly. 

The basic goal of contactless payments is to make the purchasing process that much quicker. People will simply be able to stand at the register and buy their products without having to go through the usual rigmarole. OP-Pohjola's payment cards will have a bit of security built in, in that the contactless system will only be available for small purchases. In Finland, for example, the payment system will only work for purchases of 25 euros or less. Should a shopper want to make a larger purchase they will go through the usual process of swiping the card and inputting their PIN.

OP-Pohjola Group says that their contactless payment systems are currently being tested in Finland and elsewhere in Europe. If that testing goes as the company expects, then they will make contactless OP-Visa debit cards available to their customers by the fall of 2012. The company says that their customers will be able to easily spot the merchants that utilize these contactless payment services by looking for the Visa payWave and MasterCard (News - Alert) paypass signs that are usually prominently displayed.