Barclaycard will introduce mobile payments into the UK later this year, using technology that may be in the next iPhone and iPad.
New phones from Everything Everywhere, the recent merger of Orange and T-Mobile’s UK networks, will let users make payments from a prepaid MasterCard PayPass account.
Gerry McQuade, chief development officer for Everything Everywhere, said that the introduction of mobile payments is as important as the launch of the personal credit card or cash machine.
“We’re making something that’s been talked about for many years a reality and very soon, using your mobile to buy a sandwich, a cinema ticket or in time, even something bigger like a computer will simply be the norm,” McQuade said.
“This is part of our wider strategy to re-define what people use their mobiles for, with mobile payments being the start.”
The phone can be “charged” simply by entering details from a Barclaycard or Orange credit card or Barclays debit card, or from the Barclaycard website. It can then be used to pay anywhere that accepts contactless payments, at present that amounts to some 40,000 retailers. Users simply wave their phone at the reader.
Orange says that the system has been designed to ensure that transactions and personal data will be secure.
“The launch proposition will focus on an industry backed, SIM-based approach to payments ensuring enhanced security for customers, as well as to initially provide a single point of customer care contact,” the company says.
Contactless payments use NFC — near field communication — a technology that many believe will be built into the next iPhone and iPad. Apple could then let iOS device users make payments using their iTunes account — potentially it could become the world’s biggest payments company overnight.
Apple has registered several patents in NFC and mobile payments mand last year hired Benjamin Vigier, an expert in the field.
See also: When money talks: turning phones into virtual wallets by MacUser’s Alex Watson.
