Barclays looks set to trump Android Pay in offering UK Android users their first mobile contactless payment system.
Contactless Mobile is the rather generic name Barclays has chosen for its new Android-based payment system, which will roll out in the UK in June.
The system will work much like Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, and Android Pay in allowing you to make payments using your smartphone at shops and payment points equipped with contactless technology.
You won’t need to open an app, nor will you even need to enter a PIN or offer your fingerprint for purchases of up to £30. If you’re buying something between £30 and and £100 in value, you will need to provide authentication.
Where Barclays’s offering really differentiates itself from all three of its rivals is that it will potentially be available to all NFC-equipped Android phones in the UK.
That last point is particularly crucial, as Contactless Mobile looks set to beat Google’s official Android Pay offering to the UK market. Google’s tardy offering is expected to rollout over the coming months, though we haven’t been given a specific date or even month.
Related: Apple Pay vs Android Pay
Of course, where the Barclays Contactless Mobile app falls short is that it only lets you pay using your Barclays accounts, whereas Android Pay will work with several major banks. Eventually.
Barclays says that the rollout of Contactless Mobile will occur over a number of days, and that it will be incorporated into its existing mobile banking app.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
