Orange and Barclaycard add Galaxy S III to Quick Tap NFC payments service

The UK carrier and card issuer’s service is now available on an Android smartphone for the first time and customers who activate Quick Tap on an S III by 5 October will receive a £50 credit they can use to make NFC purchases with their phone.

Orange and Barclaycard
PAYMENTS: £50 bonus for Galaxy S III buyers who add Quick Tap

UK mobile network operator Orange and card issuer Barclaycard have expanded the line-up of devices that work with their Quick Tap NFC payments service to include the Samsung Galaxy S III.

The addition of the S III marks the first time British consumers have been able to use the Quick Tap service on an Android smartphone.

As an incentive to sign up for NFC payments, new and upgrading customers who choose the Orange Samsung Galaxy S III and activate Quick Tap by 5 October will receive a £50 (US$79) credit they can use to make purchases in stores with their mobile phone. The stored value account on their phone can then be reloaded with additional funds as required, using any UK MasterCard or Visa branded debit or credit card.

“We are really excited to be launching Quick Tap payments on one of the most popular smartphones of the year,” says Simeon Bird, director of propositions at Orange UK. “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”

“Barclaycard is committed to making paying for things faster, safer and easier,” adds Tom Gregory, head of digital payments at Barclaycard. “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.”

Contactless payments are currently accepted for purchases of up to £20 (US$31.80) in more than 100,000 UK merchant locations, including McDonald’s, M&S, Co-op Food, Prêt a Manger, EAT, Little Chef, Wembley Arena, Subway and Wilkinson.

Next: Visit the NFCW Expo to find new suppliers and solutions

4 comments on this article

  1. Contacted Orange Customer Services today and spent almost three hours going from one person to another all having no idea of this offer. Nice one Orange ! Once downloaded the app states you require a new sim…oh well back Orange again…

    1. Heh. I bought one of the first Quick Tap phones back when it launched and the guys in the shop had very little idea of what to do, save that it needed “special handling”. After multiple phone calls by two of the staff to some central helpdesk I did eventually walk out of the shop with functional NFC payments and and NFC SIM, though, so it did all work in the end. Stay strong!

  2. just tried to get this activated on my s3, via my phone the website giving the instructions on how to set it up informed me that this is currently only available to users who buy a phone after 5/9/2012 – everyone who already has a phone is asked to register interest and they will contact you, after the cut off date for the £50 signup bonus no doubt

    1. But…. just phoned them up and they are putting an NFC compatible sim in the post for me – why wait when calls to 150 are free?

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