Londoners with a Barclaycard OnePulse credit card will soon be among the first to benefit from the ability to make contactless payments at many high street stores in the capital. More than 1,000 London shops have signed up for Barclays' cashless payment technology, the BBC reports.
OnePulse is a combined credit and London Transport Oyster card that will be launched in September. Inspired by the Oyster payment method, it uses the same smartcard radio frequency identification (RFID) technology to allow users to purchase items costing less than £10 by touching their Barclaycard against a reader. Transactions over £10 will still need to be verified using a PIN number.
Doubles as Oyster card
As well as its more traditional payment function, the Barclaycard OnePulse can also be used as an Oyster pass for travel on tubes and buses around London. Cardholders can swipe the card to pay for travel, using it on either a pay-as-you-go or season ticket basis.
According to Barclays, OneTouch payment is "quicker, convenient and more secure than cash". It told the BBC that the OnePulse credit cards cannot be cloned or counterfeited. And if the card is lost or stolen, once the cardholder has cancelled the card it will no longer work for contactless transactions.
The new cashless payment system has the potential to reduce hassle and speed up queues in venues such as pubs, fast food outlets and coffee shops across the city.
