Bank of Ireland is to introduce a new cashless payment method to Irish customers later this year when it issues its new "contactless" Visa Debit cards.

The bank said the cards are aimed at small transactions, limited to €15, and will enable customers to pay for smaller items in stores in less than a second, simply by holding the card over a reader in the shop.

Almost one million of the cards, which use a technology called Near-Field Communications, will be issued to customers in the second half of the year.

The bank said there are additional security features in the new card that would stop it being used by unauthorised people. The card can only be used a certain number of times or for a certain value before a PIN is required.

More than 20 million of the contactless debit cards are already being used in Europe, but this is the first time they will be implemented here.

"Contactless technology is a key development in promoting electronic payment methods for low value transactions," said Bank of Ireland's head of consumer segments Quentin Teggin. "The consumer and retailer appetite is evidenced by the fact that Visa Europe recently announced that Visa contactless card numbers in issue in the UK are predicted to increase from 13 to 20 million by the end of 2011."

More than 60,000 retail outlets in the UK currently use the technology, and Visa Europe said weekly spending using this method was expected to double by the end of the year.