St. Maarten held general elections in September 2016 and this resulted in a coalition government between the National Alliance, Democratic Party and the United St. Maarten Party, with Mr. William Marlin being the Prime Minister.
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Bankomatiko Contactless Smart Card
When using your Bankomatiko Contactless Smart card at POS devices that are enabled for Maestro contactless transactions, it is not necessary to insert or swipe your card. Now you also have the option to make a contactless payment just by holding your card near the contactless reader of the POS terminal, also known as “Tapping” your card, where you will hear a beep or the screen of the POS terminal will light up to let you know that the transaction has been completed. Contactless purchases equivalent to NAF 45.00 or less can be processed very quickly without a pin and for contactless purchases between NAF 45.00 and NAF 100.00, it is required to enter a pin. For purchases over NAF 100.00, you must always insert or swipe your card. Regardless of the contactless feature on the card, you always have the option to insert or swipe your card and enter the pin to complete the transaction like you have grown accustomed to.
Contactless payments are gaining popularity worldwide because they are easy, faster and secure. This technology is becoming more popular every day especially at locations where it is important to have quicker checkouts at the counters. Just think of places like bakeries, fast-food restaurants, bars and movie theaters. On top of that it adds to the safety of your card usage because you are less likely to walk away without your card as the card stays in your possession.
The roll out of Bankomatiko Contactless Smart Card will start in the second quarter of 2017. You will recognize the Bankomatiko Contactless Smart Card by the contactless indicator on the top right corner on the front of the card. WIB expects to roll out contactless enabled POS terminals to merchants in the Dutch Caribbean to accept contactless Maestro payments by mid-2017. The Bankomatiko Contactless Smart Card can be used for contactless transactions worldwide where Maestro is accepted and there is a contactless enabled POS terminal. However the contactless technology is still more common in Europe where contactless Maestro cards are widely accepted. To recognize merchants where Maestro contactless payments are accepted you should look for Maestro logo in combination with the contactless symbol on the POS terminal.
If you have questions about the WIB Bankomatiko contactless smart card, please call us at 546-2WIB (546-2942).