Tap your town campaign reaches half way mark and Ohakune is taking the cake

Former New Zealand All Blacks captain Richie McCaw could be coming to your town for a game of touch. Photo/ file

Ohakune is in the lead to get Richie McCaw to visit their town and host the ultimate game of touch rugby.

New Zealand towns are racing to become the winner of MasterCard's 'Tap for your Town' competition which closes on August 27.

The prize is a day with the former All Blacks skipper and double Rugby World Cup winner - plus a bit of footie thrown in.

The competition started on June 18 to promote 'tap and go' and 'tap and pin' payment methods, and every contactless tap made with a New Zealand issued MasterCard counts towards a town's total.

The town with the the most number of contactless payment transactions, or taps, per capita gets McCaw, the former New Zealander of the Year, for a game of touch rugby to remember.

And, so far, it is Ohakune heading the field to grab a piece of McCaw.

Country manager for MasterCard New Zealand, Peter Chisnall, said the company has made it a very level playing field by counting transactions per capita so big and small towns all have a fair crack at winning.

"We've also only counted Kiwi transactions as part of the competition - no international tourist transactions are included so it's all fair and square.

"I must say, I am a little disappointed my hometown of New Plymouth isn't in the top 10 towns yet. C'mon Taranaki!"

According to a recent MasterCard survey of more than 1000 New Zealanders, Kiwis are already switching on to the benefits of contactless technology.

Seventy-two per cent are using their cards to 'tap and go' for transactions under $80 or to 'tap and PIN' when making a payment for more than $80.

Mr Chisnall said this competition is all about encouraging Kiwis to get tapping in order to reap the many benefits contactless payments offer.

"We're all about bringing priceless experiences to our customers and facing off against Richie on the field is an opportunity that many Kiwis could only dream off - until now."

For more information on the 'tap your town' competition, visit: Mastercard Tap For Your Town on Facebook.

Based on current rankings, the top ten New Zealand towns are:
1. Ohakune
2. Queenstown
3. Twizel
4. Ashburton
5. Hokitika
6. Amberley
7. Kaikoura
8. Otorohanga
9. =Kawerau
9. =Levin
10 =Taupo
10 =Taupo
10 =Marton