Barclaycard to trial mobile phone payments in the UK

Barclaycard is to become the first credit card provider to publicly trial mobile phone payments in the UK.

The trial will allow selected customers to make contactless payments for £10 or under with a single touch of their mobile against a payment terminal.

Following a successful internal pilot, the trial is being undertaken to assess consumer appetite for new payment methods and mobile applications, with other partners in the trial including O2, Visa Europe, Nokia, Transport for London and Transys.

During the trial, five hundred customers will receive mobiles with an inbuilt Oyster card for travel in London. Of those five hundred, two hundred and twenty five will also have access to £200 provided by Barclaycard to make contactless payments with their phone. The trial is being used by Barclaycard to assess customer reaction to a new way of buying low value items such as coffee, sandwiches and newspapers. The test is part of Barclaycard’s ambitious payments innovation programme, which includes a wider launch of contactless payments in the UK and other forthcoming developments.

Commenting on the launch of the trial, Colin Swain, Barclaycard’s Head of Research and Development said, “Barclaycard has a long history of innovation and again we’re at the forefront of trialling new technology which will help us play a leading role in shaping the future of payments.” He continued, “We continually investigate new ways of making our customers' lives easier and giving them choice, and we are excited by the many opportunities mobile devices could bring. This trial will ensure we can gain 'real-world' feedback on what our customers think of mobile payments, which will help us define the service going forward."

Earlier this year, Barclaycard became the first credit card provider in Europe to launch a contactless payment card, Barclaycard OnePulse. Barclaycard OnePulse can be used in three ways, as an Oyster card, a Barclaycard and a contactless payment card. The mobile trial will employ the same secure technology as that used in Barclaycard OnePulse.

In addition to launching a contactless card, Barclaycard has also been at the forefront of helping retailers accept contactless transactions with the launch of Barclaycard Business’ OneTouch payment technology which will be used during the trial.