Barclays releases the NFC-enabled PayTag [video]

[Corey]

Barclays on Thursday announced the launch of the Barclaycard PayTag, a sticker that can be placed on any handset to equip it with instant NFC compatibility. The PayTag is an extension of a customer’s credit card account that can be used to make payments of £15 and under, though the limit will rise to £20 in June, and it is available at no cost to Barclaycard owners. “Today, we are offering the choice of mobile payments to millions of our customers at no additional cost to them,” David Chan, CEO of Barclaycard Consumer Europe, said. “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.” The PayTag will be released to a select group of customers in the coming weeks, with mass availability coming later this year. Barclays’ commercial and press release follows below.

Barclaycard today announced the launch of Barclaycard PayTag, a new way to pay with your mobile telephone

Barclaycard today announced the launch of Barclaycard PayTag, a new way to pay with your mobile telephone. Millions of Barclaycard customers will be offered the chance to make payments with any mobile phone by simply sticking a Barclaycard PayTag to the back of their handset.

Available at no cost, and exclusively to Barclaycard Visa cardholders, Barclaycard

PayTag is an extension of a customer’s credit card account. At a third of the size of a normal card, it can be discreetly and simply stuck to the back of any mobile phone. Once attached, it can be used to make payments of £15 and under, rising to £20 in June, by simply being held over a contactless payment terminal.

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[1], so we’re giving people the option of using them to make easy, convenient, everyday payments without the need to upgrade their current handset.”

The announcement comes as Visa predicts that the number of contactless point-of-sale terminals in the UK will rise by 50% to 150,000 this year. Major retailers that offer, or are introducing, contactless include Waitrose, McDonalds, Boots, WH Smith and Tesco. By the end of 2012, London buses will also accept contactless payments, followed by the Tube and the rest of the transport network in the Capital in 2013.

Barclaycard PayTag is safe and secure, and comes with the same 100% fraud protection as any Barclaycard. An exclusive group of customers will be invited to receive their Barclaycard PayTag in the coming weeks, before they are offered to millions of Barclaycard customers later in the year.

David Chan, adds: “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.”

Last week Barclaycard and Orange announced that credit or debit card holders from all UK banks would be able to load money onto Barclaycard’s mobile payments application, in the Quick Tap wallet. This will open up the opportunity for contactless payments to more Orange customers. Orange also confirmed that it would be making Quick Tap available on a range of Android smartphones, with the first to be announced in the coming weeks.

Research carried out on Barclaycard’s behalf predicts that £3 billion worth of purchases will be made with mobile phones in the UK in 2016[2]. Barclaycard PayTag provides customers with the choice of simple mobile phone payments now, without having to wait to upgrade, and at no additional cost.

To find out more and to register interest in Barclaycard PayTag, please visit barclaycard.co.uk/paytag.

 

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