Orange and Barclaycard today announced a long-term strategic partnership to develop a range of mobile, financial and payment services that will allow customers to pay via mobile phone.
With a combined customer base of more than 28 million, Orange and Barclaycard believe this will be the biggest revolution in payments since plastic cards were introduced more than four decades ago.
Customers will be able to use their mobile phones to pay for goods and services at retailers using Near-Field Communications (NFC) - or contactless - technology, i.e. by simply waving their handset against a reader.
Both companies plan to expand the partnership to include other contactless services within ticketing, transport and rewards.
MasterCard will provide the payment capabilities for the transactions.
The partnership between Barclaycard and Orange will also enable market-leading mobile alerts, servicing capabilities and new banking applications, all of which will help customers retain control of their finances while on the move.
Barclaycard now has more than 1.5 million contactless enabled cards in issue - with this number expected to reach 6 million by the end of 2009 - and will soon have at least 10,000 contactless terminals installed at retail outlets throughout the UK payment on all transactions of £10 and under.
Orange has completed a number of successful mobile contactless trials in France, Spain and the UK.
Tom Alexander, CEO of Orange UK, said that companies are focusing more attention on the mobile industry with a view to evolving the way they do business with their customers, and a key part of Orange's strategy is to grow and evolve its business in order to provide people with services beyond talk and text.
Antony Jenkins, CEO of Barclaycard, said: "There has been a lot of talk about mobile payments and now it's going to become a reality for our customers," commented Antony Jenkins, CEO of Barclaycard. "I believe that all our UK customers will be able to use their mobile phones to pay for everyday items within three years."
