Following a year in which there has been a raft of new contactless deployments and a number of banks have renewed their commitment to the technology, the Krowne Online Broadcast Network (KOBN) has celebrated the achievements of those organizations that have done the most to make contactless technology a reality.

KOBN’s Contactless-intelligence.tv (C-ITV) channel presented the annual C-ITV Monkey Awards during the Contactless Intelligence spring conference, which took place in London on April 1-2. The record number of entries this year from Europe, North America and Asia is testament to the advances being made in contactless adoption worldwide. “The contactless sector has made good progress over the past 12 months,” says Karen Kubran, COO – Krowne Communications Group. “And we’ve been impressed by the commitment that this year’s finalists have shown to making contactless a reality. Not only was the number of entrants up on last year, but the quality of entries has also improved, highlighting the progress being made by the industry in Europe and beyond.”

The Monkeys come at a time when the industry is still facing key challenges: some retailers are trying to identify the business case for deploying contactless, while other stakeholders are focusing on ways in which they can work with new and multiple partners to deliver the technology. “These awards highlight how partners are working successfully together and also celebrate how a diversity of merchants is discovering that contactless can boost their business by being a differentiator, making life easier for customers and increasing throughput,” says Kubran.

The 2009 Monkey Awards winners are:

• In-Restaurant dining – Yo! Sushi
• High Throughput beverage – Pret A Manger
• High Throughput food – EAT
• Competitive Advantage through technology – Evening Standard
• High Street Retailing – Carrefour
• Health/Lifestyle/Entertainment – Manchester City Football Club
• Public Concern – O2 for NFC solution for care workers
• Transportation – RMV for NFC ticketing in Frankfurt
• Trailblazing and innovation – Payter
• Visa payWAVE award – Pret A Manger

Blogger James Allen, who documented the highs and lows of living without cash for a year, also received a special award. “Progress has been made towards a cashless society, but as James’ experience – which included a five-mile walk home when he couldn’t top up his Oyster travel card one evening – highlights, there is still some way to go before any of us can seriously consider ditching cash,” says Kubran.

This year’s judges were Dominique Descolas, Veolia; Paul Chamberlain, Association for Convenience Stores; Tim Jefferson, The Human Chain; Jeremy Nicholds, Visa and Wendy Atkins, Contactless Intelligence.