The really weird and confusing MEGA-FRAGMENTATION of the UK’s NFC payments scene has just got a little more bewildering, with Orange announcing a deal with Barclaycard to incorporate its Quick Tap NFC system in the Galaxy S III.
The arrival of the Orange and Barclaycard payment system also sees the two companies agreeing to stick a bonus £50 of credit into the accounts of any “new or upgrading” users of the network who take up the offer of a Galaxy S III.
A free £50 to spend on sweets and magazines would make us sign up. If we had an SIII. And if we were on Orange. Still, it’s there if you want it. Here’s a thing from Orange:
Orange and Barclaycard announce first Quick Tap Android Smartphone with the Samsung Galaxy SIII
Orange Samsung Galaxy SIII to be the first Android device to feature Quick Tap contactless payment technology
New and upgrading customers taking the Orange Samsung Galaxy SIII from 5th September will be able to load money securely onto their handset using any UK MasterCard, Visa, Debit or Credit Card
New and upgrading Orange Samsung Galaxy SIII customers who activate the service between 5th September and 5th October receive £50 to spend free
Orange and Barclaycard today announced plans to launch the first Android smartphone compatible with the Quick Tap contactless payments service. From the 5th of September, new or upgrading Orange Samsung Galaxy SIII customers with a UK MasterCard or Visa card can now use Quick Tap, enabling them to make mobile contactless payments nationwide.
From 5th September, Orange customers who take out the Samsung Galaxy SIII from Orange Shops, Orange telesales and via the Orange web site will be able to use their handset to make convenient and secure contactless payments of up to £20 by simply tapping their phone on the payment terminal at tills across the country. Getting up and running simply involves downloading an app and activating the secure Barclaycard service. Customers who activate the service between 5th September and 5th October 2012 will also receive £50 free to spend using their phone.
Simeon Bird, Director of Propositions, Orange UK, said: “We are really excited to be launching Quick Tap payments on one of the most popular smartphones of the year. Contactless mobile payments are a secure and convenient alternative to cash and cards and we are pleased to be the first network brand in the UK to offer its customers such an innovative service.”
Tom Gregory, Head of Digital Payments, Barclaycard, added: “Barclaycard is committed to making paying for things faster, safer and easier. With the launch of Quick Tap payments on the Samsung Galaxy SIII, Barclaycard is bringing a safe and secure new way to pay to customers of all UK banks. Mobile payments are safe and have a full fraud guarantee and we’ve seen ever growing numbers of people using contactless to make quick and secure payments of up to £20.”
The Samsung Galaxy SIII with Quick Tap will be available from Orange shops, www.orange.co.uk and via Orange telesales from 5th September 2012 on Pay Monthly plans. For £36 a month customers will receive unlimited minutes, texts and 1GB of data.
The Panasonic Eluga marks the company’s return to the European mobile phone scene years after several years of absence, and it’s come back to us with a moderately high-spec Android model that features a rather stylish, slim case.
The HTC One V is HTC’s third entry in its high-profile new HTC One range, offering a smaller 3.7″ display running on a single-core 1GHz processor. It is is very much the “affordable” option in HTC’s newest Android series, but…
The HTC One S is the piggy in the middle of HTC’s 2012 line-up, offering a 4.3″ AMOLED display inside a very slim and stylish aluminium chassis. The end result is a phone that’s very, very slim and stylish.
HTC’s new quad-core monster, the 4.7″ flagship for 2012 that introduces the Tegra 3 processor to mobile phones, updates HTC’s range to Android 4.0 and brings us the supposedly streamlined version 4.0 of HTC’s Sense user interface.
Sony returns with an all-new mobile design for 2012, pairing a dual-core processor with a 720p display. It’s a lovely phone, but is it enough to end our Samsung and HTC obsession?
LG’s updated Prada phone comes with an absolutely crazy black & white theme, but is it just for fashionable suit wearers who want to make themselves look a bit more interesting?
Despairing
/ September 4, 2012I’m old enough to remember the fragmentation of debit card payment systems, with the imaginatively named ‘EFTPOS’ competing with Switch. Banks and shops were forced into choosing, with Switch signing up more of them and therefore winning the race.
NFC will eventually consolidate into one payment system, although there may be different apps to use, just as today different makes of credit and debit cards all use the same pin pads and ATMs. Until then, there’ll be confusion for the consumer and a reluctance to use it incase it’s not compatible.