Each day, CB specifies new solutions to serve users. These developments are driven both by market requirements and initiatives from certain players. For example, these may be:
Person-to-person (P2P) payment, which will eventually allow card payments to be made between individuals. This development relates to the use of mobile telephones, which could allow card payments without using the usual plastic media.
The payment function
The payment function is one of the purposes of the CB card. It is universal, and may be associated with services supplied by the banks and offered to their customers (cardholders or merchants).
Payment, by any type of card, requires three stages: authorisation where appropriate, clearing and settlement. Payment is the basis of all CB services. This means payments given in the physical presence of the cardholder (known as "face-to-face payments") with or without contact, and orders for payment given remotely, in the physical absence of the cardholder (example, Internet, letter or telephone).
For the convenience of users and to cope with the realities of usage, functionalities already exist to handle these specific situations. For example:
- The merchant has the option to fully or partially reimburse a purchase that has previously been settled by a CB bank card.
- It is possible to make currency conversions at the point of sale so that the holder pays directly in the currency of their choice (with application of the current exchange rate). This same conversion value appears on their periodic transaction statement.
- Payment by instalment is triggered contractually at the moment of purchase and can spread a payment over 3 instalments over a maximum of 90 days (compliance with the Scrivener Act).
- For amounts for which the amount is not known before finalisation of the service (automatic distribution of fuel, payphones, car park, etc.), there are specific solutions designed to adjust the payment of the amount of the service supplied.