Orange and Barclaycard have launched ‘Quick Tap’, a contactless mobile payment service which allows consumers to make purchases on the high street using their mobile phone for the first time.
The landmark launch means that in addition to using contactless cards or chip and PIN, consumers can tap their mobile phone on a contactless reader at tills in over 50,000 stores to make purchases £15 and under.
Mobile payments will be accepted at stores nationwide including Pret a Manger, EAT., Little Chef, Wembley Arena, Subway, Wilkinson and McDonalds where contactless payments are currently accepted.
The service will be available to Orange customers who use a ‘Quick Tap’ enabled handset. Launching with a Quick Tap enabled version of one of Orange’s best-selling devices, the Samsung Tocco Lite, the Samsung Tocco Quick Tap will be available on pay as you go and pay monthly price plans, with more handsets expected to follow from a selection of leading manufacturers.
The Samsung Tocco Quick Tap handset will be available on Pay As You Go for £59.99, and from free on Pay Monthly contracts from £10 per month on 24 month contracts
Barclaycard, Barclays debit or Orange Credit Card users can transfer funds of up to £100 simply and securely onto the handset’s Quick Tap app, after which the phone is ready to make payments of £15 and under in a single transaction.
The user friendly payment app, which sits on the home screen of all Quick Tap compatible handsets, contains information such as electronic statements detailing Quick Tap purchases so customers can keep an eye on their spending and manage finances easily on the go. To support the launch, Barclaycard is providing Orange customers with £10 cash added to their account upon activation, and 10% cash back on all Quick Tap purchases made in the first three months.
Commenting on the announcement, David Chan, CEO of Barclaycard Consumer Europe, said: “This is the first time that customers can use their mobile to pay for goods and services in shops across the UK rather than using cards or cash. They’ll be able to do this, safe in the knowledge that this is a secure technology brought to them by the biggest names in payments and mobile technology.
“Having a wallet on my phone has made it much more convenient to make purchases on the move and I like that it allows me to keep track of what I’m spending as I go. Barclaycard launched credit cards in the UK over 40 years ago and have been leading the evolution of payments ever since.”
Pippa Dunn, Orange Vice President, said: “We no longer use our mobile phones simply for talking and texting – apps, cameras and music players allow us to use them for a lot more. So, making contactless payments with your mobile is a natural and really exciting innovation which we’re pleased to be leading on in the UK. Orange Quick Tap is the first of its kind, a service that allows you to pay for everyday items just by tapping your phone wherever you see the contactless payment symbol. It’s going to start a revolution in the way we pay for things on the high street.”
The launch will be supported by a marketing campaign that will promote the benefits of Quick Tap through a range of marketing channels. The fun and bold creative campaign will emphasise how Quick Tap represents a radical new way for people to pay for items using just their mobile, driving consumers to start a “new movement” with contactless payments.
Orange and Barclaycard announced their partnership to bring contactless mobile payments to market in 2009, and believe this will be the biggest revolution in payments since credit cards were introduced in the UK by Barclaycard over 40 years ago.
The new devices use NFC technology, building on existing contactless payment technology with 12.9 million contactless credit and debit cards already in circulation, of which over 11.4m have been issued by Barclaycard and Barclays who have been pioneers in bringing it to market since 2007.
Security
Mobile Contactless Payments from Orange and Barclaycard have been developed and tested to ensure customers’ transactions and personal data will be protected and secure, with users having the option to enter a PIN on their handset before each transaction providing an additional layer of security.
The launch proposition will use a secure SIM-based approach to mobile payments, providing a single point of contact for customer care as well as ensuring enhanced payment security for customers.
MasterCard will provide the payment capability for the contactless mobile transactions. Contactless transactions on mobile phones benefit from the same 100% fraud guarantee as standard Barclays and Barclaycard transactions nationwide.
Since contactless mobile payments are processed online, if a customer cancels their phone because it is lost, damaged or stolen, no transactions can be completed.
David Burdett, Managing Director of Ecebs, one of the UK’s leading smart technology companies, said: “This initiative by Orange is the tip of the iceberg coming into view. While topping up your phone without your debit card is useful, it’s not revolutionary – but the fact it is now reality is hugely significant because it brings a smart future into our living rooms.
“The truth is, the technology exists now to really change the way we live – from ordering travel tickets to collecting benefits and even taking out library books, it can all happen from the same chip in your mobile phone. The really exciting aspect of this launch is not what can happen now, but what it will lead to in the near future. The danger is that we focus on the tip of the iceberg, and ignore what’s lurking under the surface.”
www.orange.co.uk/quicktap
