Barclaycard is set to become the first financial services provider in the UK to introduce contactless payments from any NFC enabled Android phone via its app

UK customers using this service will be able to use their phone to make contactless payments of up to £30 without a PIN and up to £100 by entering their PIN

In a market-first, a real-time replacement service will allow lost and stolen cards to be downloaded instantly onto the app, allowing customers to continue to make contactless payments using their phones without a break in service

From November, the UK’s leading credit card provider will introduce a contactless payment feature to its existing customer app that will transform NFC-enabled Android phones into a way of making ‘touch and go’ payments at over 300,000 locations in the UK, as well as across the London transport network.

Barclaycard customers using this new feature in the app will be able to make contactless payments for transactions up to £30 with just a touch of their device and, for the first time, will also be able to make high-value contactless payments of up to £100 by entering their PIN on their mobile device.

Activating the contactless functionality in the Barclaycard app takes less than a minute and after that payment can be made without needing to open an app, enter a PIN or verify with a fingerprint. The new feature will be the easiest and quickest way to make contactless payments using a mobile phone in the market.

Just over 40 per cent of UK smartphones are now NFC-enabled, with the proportion expected to rise to 85 per cent by 2019.

In another UK market-first, Barclaycard is introducing its ‘instant card replacement’ feature to Android users. This will enable customers to have a lost or stolen card replaced immediately on their mobile phone via the Barclaycard app. Customers simply report their card as lost, stolen or damaged by calling the contact centre for free from the app and the virtual replacement card will be instantly downloaded to the app and can be used immediately. A plastic card replacement will then follow in the post.

This feature avoids the need to wait for the new card to arrive and will be particularly useful when customers are away from home or where an entire wallet or purse is lost or stolen.

Combined, the industry-leading additions will see the Android app become a mobile hub for Barclaycard customers and make it one of the most useful financial services account-management tools in the UK.

Safer than carrying cash and just as secure as any credit and debit card, users of the mobile payment function will be asked periodically to log in to the app to confirm their identity. They will also have the option of turning on PIN protection for payments up to £30 – it will be a requirement for all payments over £30 and up to £100. All mobile payments will come with the same fraud protection that applies to contactless cards.

The amount that UK consumers are spending using contactless has risen 150 per cent in the last 12 months and the number of transactions is up 134 per cent, Barclaycard research shows. The continued growth in usage underlines its leading role in developing and progressing the technology, having introduced it into the UK in 2007.

Barclaycard offers a range of contactless payment innovations designed to give consumers unrivalled choice of paying for everyday goods and services in a way that’s most convenient for them. Earlier this summer, the bPay wearable payment devices range was expanded to include a new wristband, fob and sticker.

The Barclaycard app for Android is free for all customers and can be downloaded from Google Play.

Tami Hargreaves, Commercial Director, Digital Consumer Payments at Barclaycard said,

“Barclaycard has a strong history of innovation and we're constantly looking for new ways to revolutionise payments. These new features transform Android phones into a mobile hub for our customers allowing them to manage their account on the go, make contactless payments up to £100 and have a lost or stolen card instantly re-issued – letting them continue to make contactless payments straightaway.

“This additional functionality is being added to our existing customer app so there’s no need for existing users to download, register, upload, or add card details into a new app; you just complete the simple opt-in process and away you go. It’s the latest in our range of ‘Pay your Way’ options that allows customers to make payments quickly, easily and conveniently, and makes the Barclaycard app the best in its class.”

Discover more about turning your Android phone in a contactless way to pay