There has been a 350 per cent increase in the number of contactless payments made on the island by HSBC Bermuda customers with “Tap & Go” equipped MasterCard credit cards.

And the bank expects that trend to continue, especially as the America’s Cup event village at Dockyard features contactless payment facilities.

The technology allows customers to buy an item and “tap” their credit card against a terminal at the checkout or cashier station to make the payment.

The cards can be used in Bermuda and overseas, and allow for low-value transactions of up to $50 without entering a pin number or requiring a signature.

The bank is running a promotion this month to encourage greater use of the “Tap & Go” system, with customers using the technology earning extra entries into a prize draw for a trip to Las Vegas.

HSBC Bermuda is planning to extend the ability to make contactless payments to its Visa debit cards early next year.

“This functionality which was previously referred to as PayPass, has been available on our cards for some time. Over the past 12 months we have seen growth at a rate of 350 per cent in this type of transaction in Bermuda,” said a HSBC Bermuda spokesperson.

“This trend is expected to continue over the coming years and we anticipate a more immediate and significant uptake over the next six weeks, due to the America’s Cup Village also being ‘contactless’.”

The spokesman added: “In order to promote the technology we are currently running a promotion where customers are entered to win a trip to Las Vegas every time they use their HSBC MasterCard. If they use ‘contactless’ they get three entries into the draw and therefore triple their chances to win.”

Further information about HSBC’s contactless payment technology is available at https://www.hsbc.bm/1/2/personal/cards/contactless