Feedback Form
Home

End of the road for Proton

Proton, the rechargeable cash-card operated by the Belgian MisterCash-Bancontact network, will be phased out at the end of 2014, following a steady decline in users, the company said. The chip in the user’s bank card, which can be charged with up to €500, was intended for payments of under €10, but in the last year customers have made three times as many such small payments with Bancontact than with Proton.

Alternatives being prepared include the possibility of using the Bancontact card without a PIN for specially adapted machines, such as vending machines and parking ticket dispensers. In addition, the use of payments by smartphone will be extended. At present, passengers on Flemish public transport authority De Lijn can pay for tickets by SMS, and more and more parking meters operate in the same way. The use of Near Field Communication chips to transfer money from special cards or smartphones to pay terminals in shops is also on the rise.

In preparation for the demise of Proton, the company said it had reduced the charge to retailers of transactions by Bancontact under €10, though many individual businesses continue to pass charges on to customers.

(October 3, 2024)