Orange and Barclaycard say the bada-powered Samsung Wave 578 will be the next mobile phone compatible with Quick Tap contactless payments in the UK. The first phone, the Samsung Tocco Quick Tap, was revealed in May when the service launched.
The payment-enabled version of the Samsung Wave 578 has a 3.2-inch screen plus a 3.2 megapixel camera and offers WiFi, HSDPA, A-GPS, Bluetooth and MicroSD expansion. It’ll be offered on ‘pay as you go’ and ‘pay monthly’ deals within the next few weeks.
Customers with a Barclaycard, Barclays debit card or Orange Credit Card can load up to £100 onto the handset’s Quick Tap app. Quick Tap NFC payments can currently be made for transactions of under £15 at over 50,000 stores nationwide, including Prêt a Manger, EAT, Little Chef, Subway, Wilkinson and McDonalds. At the moment Barclaycard is giving Orange customers £10 on their account when it’s activated, along with 10% cashback on all Quick Tap purchases made in the following 90 days.
David Chan, CEO of Barclaycard Consumer Europe, said “Paying with a mobile phone means never being without the right change, and always having access to funds. That’s why I believe contactless mobile is the future of payments, and I’m keen it’s made available to as many of our customers as possible. At the launch of our first contactless handset earlier this year we promised we would roll out greater choice in the ‘Quick Tap’ range and I’m pleased to be able to announce the first of these new handsets today.”
| Mark Bridge from TheFonecast.com appeared on the BBC News channel when the Quick Tap service was announced in May. Click here to watch the video clip, or click here for the podcast. |