Barclays Bank has bowed to the inevitable and joined the rest of the UK’s biggest banks in introducing Apple Pay support. The big UK bank has been a reluctant stand out against the Apple Pay hype machine, instead launching its own range of wearables and jumping on board with the Zapp mobile commerce system from VocaLink.
Barclaycard and Barclays customers can, from today, use Apple Pay, the easy, secure and private way to pay at the hundreds of thousands of locations across the UK that accept contactless payments.
The introduction of Apple Pay for Barclaycard and Barclays customers gives millions more UK consumers the ability to conveniently make payments using iPhone, Apple Watch and iPad at over 400,000 contactless locations in the UK, across the London transport network as well as when shopping within participating retailers’ apps. Apple Pay is easy to set up and users can now add their Barclays debit card and Barclaycard credit card to Wallet and continue to receive all of the usual rewards and benefits.
„When you use a card with Apple Pay, the actual card number is not stored on the device, or on Apple servers. Instead, a unique Device Account Number is assigned, encrypted and securely stored in the Secure Element on the device. Each transaction is authorised with a one-time unique dynamic security code.”, according to the press release.
Barclaycard introduced the first contactless credit cards in the UK in 2007 and Barclays was the first bank to roll-out contactless debit cards to its customers. Contactless payments have seen huge growth since then as consumers have recognised the ease, speed and convenience they offer. Spending rose more than three-fold in 2015, with 140 million contactless transactions made in December alone – the equivalent of 52 every second.
Today’s rollout means that Barclays and Barclaycard offer the widest range of payment innovations designed to give their customers unrivalled choice of paying for everyday goods and services, and sending and receiving money in a way that’s most convenient for them.
Despite the capitulation, Barclays has yet to confirm support for the imminent launch of rival service Android Pay in the UK, preferring instead to go it alone with its own Barclaycard app which includes support for HCE-based NFC mobile payments.
Finextra.com says that the roll out coincides with the release of new research from analytics outfit Aimia indicates that consumer appetite for digital wallets in Europe is growing. The findings show almost a third (31%) of the more than 24000 Europeans surveyed say they are likely to use a digital wallet on their mobile device, five percent up on the previous year.
Italy is leading the way, with nearly half (47%) of consumers likely to use digital wallets, followed closely by Spain (35%). Uptake is lowest in Germany (19%) and France (22%), with both markets having seen little movement in attitudes since a year ago. The UK sits firmly in the middle with just under a third (29%) of people saying they are likely to use digital wallets.
Banking 4.0 – „how was the experience for you”
„So many people are coming here to Bucharest, people that I see and interact on linkedin and now I get the change to meet them in person. It was like being to the Football World Cup but this was the World Cup on linkedin in payments and open banking.”
Many more interesting quotes in the video below:
