By Thomas Hobbs

When the Mondex card launched a trial in Swindon in the mid 1990s, its pledge to create a cashless society was routinely mocked by journalists and consumers alike, despite backing from NatWest bank.

The ahead-of-its-time Mondex aimed to replace coins with a chip-based card and keyring reader for checking bank balances but it did not catch on.

Yet fast-forward 20 years and contactless payments are increasingly replacing cash, with ‘mobile wallet’ services such as Apple Pay, Android Pay and Samsung Pay all launching this year to a ready-made audience of millions of smartphone users. Apple will be first to market this month. Read full story ›

Source: Marketing Week