SAN FRANCISCO – Visa USA announced that four significant national and regional merchants are the latest to accept Visa cards with embedded contactless payment technology, allowing consumers to use the convenience of this innovative technology to buy food, groceries and movie tickets at more than 3,000 new acceptance locations.

The four companies – Braum’s Ice Cream and Dairy Stores; Clearview Cinemas; Wakefern Food Corporation, the merchandising and distribution arm of ShopRite supermarkets; and Taco Bell Corp. – are emblematic of the kind of merchants who have helped to make Visa Contactless cards the most rapidly adopted new payment technology in Visa’s history.

Visa Contactless technology enables customers to make purchases by simply holding their Visa Contactless cards near a secure reader at checkout instead of swiping them. The account information is securely transmitted by a tiny radio frequency chip embedded in the card.

Visa Contactless eliminates the signature requirement for most payments under $25, providing even greater convenience to customers making small ticket purchases. In addition, Visa Contactless maintains the level of security the industry has come to expect from Visa. A Visa card with the contactless feature never leaves the customer’s hand and can only be read at extremely close proximity to a contactless reader. In addition, the chip embedded in Visa Contactless cards generates data that is unique to each transaction, ensuring the same data cannot be used for fraudulent contactless transaction.

“When faced with the choice between paper or plastic, consumers are increasingly turning to plastic for everyday purchases at grocery stores, fast food restaurants and convenience stores, and Visa cardholders consistently voice their preference for merchants that offer fast and convenient transactions,” said Brian Triplett, senior vice president, Emerging Product Development, Visa USA. “By collaborating with merchants like these, we are able meet the demands of consumers and provide them with an enhanced purchasing experience.”

–Braum’s Ice Cream and Dairy Stores, a popular, family-owned restaurant chain, now accepts Visa Contactless at its 276 stores in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas. Customers can now enjoy ice cream fountain treats or get their groceries even faster — less time to pay and more time to enjoy.

–Clearview Cinemas has installed Visa Contactless readers in all of its 52 theater locations, enabling moviegoers to move through the box office lines quicker, as well as providing them with an easier method to complete their ticket purchase. Clearview shows films on 258 screens in the New York metropolitan area.

–ShopRite, a leading grocery retailer in the Northeast, has started accepting Visa Contactless payments at more than 4,000 POS locations in more than 200 ShopRite stores across New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Delaware. Customers can now spend less time in line for their weekly shopping.

–Taco Bell Corp., the nation’s leading Mexican-style quick service restaurant chain, will test Visa Contactless cards initially at 100 restaurants in the fourth quarter of 2007. The brand plans to turn all 1,300 company restaurants and additional participating franchise locations nationwide into Contactless acceptance locations throughout 2008, pending a successful test.

“Visa’s announcement shows that the card industry is generating momentum with contactless payments,” said Gwenn Bezard, research director, Aite Group. “Adoption is growing as all stakeholders see the benefits — higher transactions per card for issuers, convenience and security for consumers, and speed and sales lift for merchants.”