Tills to ring to the ‘optimistic’ sound of Visa transactions

SHOPPERS already driven to distraction by the incessant dinging and beeping of self-checkouts could be about to face a new headache.

Payments using Visa will soon be accompanied by a “signature sound”, that will chime out each time a card or smartphone is presented, or an in-app purchase made.

Marketing employees at the company have spent a year choosing the perfect noise that, they claim, signals “speed and convenience”, while being “energetic and optimistic”.

They insist it is not overly intrusive, and claim other chimes were eliminated for being too “angry” or eliciting “visceral reactions”.

The company is also launching a unique vibration that users will feel when paying by smartphone, claiming it is entering a new era of “sensory branding”. The new sound and vibration were picked after spending months carrying out neuro-research to test the physical reactions of volunteers when they were played different sounds. The company claims users were left feeling “happy” and “excited” by the new chime and vibration.

“We wanted to make sure we had the global view, not just four to five uninformed people deciding which sound won the popularity contest,” said Lynne Biggar, Visa’s marketing chief. “You’d be surprised by how excited and how competitive or opinionated we all can be about very short sounds.

“We all are becoming very responsive to the use of sound.”

The new sound will launch in January ahead of the Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, with an advertising campaign featuring athletes making payments by swiping a credit card, tapping a phone and completing purchases online.