Orange and Barclaycard have launched what’s being described as the UK’s first contactless mobile phone payments service.

It’s called Quick Tap and uses an NFC-equipped SIM card from Gemalto, enabling customers to make purchases of £15 and under nationwide at over 50,000 stores that have adopted the MasterCard PayPass contactless payment system. Shops accepting this type of payment include Pret a Manger, EAT, Little Chef, Wembley Arena, Subway, Wilkinson and McDonalds.

The service is being launched with a special version of the Samsung Tocco Lite, called the Samsung Tocco Quick Tap. It’ll be available on Pay As You Go for £59.99 and free on some Pay Monthly contracts. To support the launch, Barclaycard is offering £10 credit upon activation and 10% cash back on all Quick Tap purchases for the first three months.

Customers with a Barclaycard, Barclays debit card or Orange Credit Card can transfer funds from their account onto the handset’s Quick Tap app. (Other cards aren't currently supported). The app also offers electronic statements detailing recent purchases.

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.”

Orange and Barclaycard announced their mobile payment partnership in 2009.