UK gets contactless payment
It's touted to be the first UK service that allows users to pay for purchases with their near-field communications (NFC) enabled mobile phones.
Consumers wanting to use the system require both Orange and Barclaycard accounts and a phone that is set up to make contactless payments.
ComputerWeekly states that mobile payments could change traditional banking, according to James Richards, head of mobile at Intelligent Environments.
Richards says banks must consider developing mobile applications for numerous mobile platforms to meet customer demands driven by new technologies, such as the UK's first mobile payment system.
“Proving the business case is often the biggest barrier to investment in innovation like mobile banking, but figures show that consumer demand is strong in the UK market,” he adds.
NFC is due to be included in some handsets released by Orange in the second half of 2011, with it being reported that Samsung may re-release the Galaxy S II with NFC support, says What Mobile.
Contactless payments were introduced in 2007 and there are now over 12.9 million contactless credit and debit cards in circulation, with 11.4 million issued by Barclays and Barclaycard.
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