Barclaycard launches ‘contactless’ payment with PayTag

Barclaycard is futher emerging into the digital wallet space with the launch of mobile payment solution PayTag.

UK customers can use their mobile to make ‘contactless’ payments by attachign a free PayTag sticker, which is around the third of the size of a credict card, onto the back of their device. Once attached and connected to a Barclaycard account, the wave-and-pay solution can be used to make payments of £15 and under, rising to £20 in June, at any retailers operating a ‘contactless’ payment terminal.

The scheme will first be rolled out to an ‘exclusive group’ of customers in the coming weeks, before being extended to millions of the bank’s customers later in the year, said the bank. The card offers the same 100% fraud protection as other Barclaycards.  

According to Barclaycard, Visa predicts that the number of contactless point-of-sale terminals in the UK will rise by 50% to 150,000 this year.   

David Chan, CEO of Barclaycard Consumer Europe, said: “Today, we are offering the choice of mobile payments to millions of our customers at no additional cost to them. More than half of us say that the item we’re most lost without is our mobile phone, so we’re giving people the option of using them to make easy, convenient, everyday payments without the need to upgrade their current handset.”  

This is the latest contactless initiative from the bank. Last week Barclaycard and Orange announced that card holders from all UK banks will be able to load money onto Barclaycard’s mobile payments application, in the Quick Tap wallet.

Chan added: “Barclaycard is developing a wide range of initiatives which will ultimately enable everyone to enjoy the benefits of mobile payments. Barclaycard PayTag is another milestone on our journey to make paying easier, and sits alongside other easy ways to pay with your mobile such as those we offer in partnership with Orange.”

The announcement also follows news this week that the European Commission (EC) has opened an in-depth investigation into the proposed mobile wallet venture between Vodafone, Everything Everywhere and O2.