Mobile app turns mobile phone into working wallet

A new mobile app is set to transform the way consumers pay for their purchases on the high street.

Quick Tap is a contact-free payment system that is being heralded as the biggest development in payment since the credit card. It will also open up a world of possibility for those looking to increase Mobile SEO presence.

The system, which has been launched by Barclaycard in partnership with Orange, turns the mobile phone into a virtual wallet. Consumers with Quick Tap will be able to make purchases of up to the value of £15 thanks to the app, which will also allow them to transfer up to £100 from their Barclays account to their Quick Tap account.

The app enables the phone’s aerial and till terminal’s receiver to communicate with each other
through a system known as Near Field Communication.

The price of the item being purchased is displayed on the terminal before the consumer pays by tapping their handset on it. For security purposes, customers can enter a four-digit pin before
accessing their Quick Tap account.

Retailers signed up to the scheme include Subway, Little Chef and EAT. The app is being launched initially on Orange handsets only, such as the Samsung Tocco.

David Chan of Barclaycard says: “Having a wallet on my phone has made it much more convenient to make purchases on the move.”