MANCHESTER, England - U.K. grocer The Co-operative will soon introduce the option of contactless payment in its store in 2011, Progressive Grocer reports. The grocer will become the first U.K. supermarket to offer the option.

Next year, Co-operative, Barclaycard and Visa will start testing the venture in 100 stores. If successful, the chain will install terminals in most of its food stores before the 2012 Olympics. The London Olympics is being touted as a contactless event, with visitors expected to use contactless payment for everything from tickets to transportation.

"This is a great opportunity for The Co-operative to work in partnership with Barclaycard to become the first major food retailer in the U.K. to roll out this unique payment method," said Sean Toal, commercial director for food retail at The Co-operative Group. "It has received an excellent reception from both customers and retailers where it has been launched overseas, and is ideal for our store portfolio."

Customers can use contactless payment for purchases costing 15 pounds Sterling or less without using a PIN or inserting a card. A customer can merely hold his credit or debit card over the contactless terminal and the purchase amount is automatically added to his credit or debit account.

"Contactless payment has huge benefits for our customers," said Mark Hale, director of food IS for the grocer. "In essence, this innovative technology will mean increased customer choice and faster transaction speed, which will vastly improve the customer experience."