Silicon.com's Steven Deare reports that MasterCard insists its RFID-based PayPass credit card isn't vulnerable to skimming or interference.

"Around 35,000 Commonwealth Bank customers in Australia are currently trialing the cards with selected retail outlets such as 7-Eleven," Deare writes. "A scanned PayPass card can make a 'contactless' transaction to the value of AU$35 (£14), meaning a signature or identification number is not required."

Still, MasterCard's Robert White was forced to defend the technology at a recent conference in Sydney.

"There's been some talk in the market of accidental payment and reading cards in your pocket, and these are perceptions," White said. "In actual fact, the security is in the application. We don't rely on channel security, we don't rely on protocol security to secure a payment that's in the application."