Barclaycard brings contactless payments to personalised phone cases

Barclaycard is embedding its bPay contactless payments technology within personalised protective smartphone cases.

The bank has teamed up with Case Station, which lets customers design their own cases for iPhone, Samsung and LG handsets online using images, texts and designs.

The new cases contain bPay chips which link to digital wallets and can be used by anyone holding a UK-registered Visa or MasterCard debit or credit card. Users then add funds to their wallet using the mobile app or online, or set up an automatic topup.

While Apple, Google and Samsung are all busy pushing their own NFC payments services, Barclays is hoping to make a virtue of quirky hardware. It has worked with high street darling TopShop on a range of contactless accessories and built a small chip-holding case that can attach to watches and fitness bands.

Tami Hargreaves, commercial Director, digital consumer payments, Barclaycard, says: "Launched in 2015, bPay is the ideal addition to the Case Station range as it instantly turns your phone into a way of making simple, flexible, and secure contactless payments for everyday purchases."

Related Companies

Barclays Bank

Channels

Retail banking Payments

Keywords

Mobile & online banking Eftpos

Comments: (2)

A Finextra member 15 September, 2016, 09:18

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We did that with MultiPass two years ago. Where do I start?.. Perhaps with Apple Pay or Samsung Pay which can be affected by an "overlay" contactless solution in a phone case. Or the diversity of "not like" scenarios. I am still puzzled with Barclays persistence to do things beyond their core area of expertise. A healthy parthership would have delivered MUCH better results. After all, the likes of BA are not applying for a banking licence to do credit cards themselves (there is Amex for that).

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Bradley Howard - Endava - London 15 September, 2016, 09:21

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Barclaycard are asking consumers whether they want 8.5x5.5 cm pieces of plastic in a wallet or small chips stuck on to everyday items. Well done Barclaycard for trying.

OK, you might need one of those pieces of plastic to swipe if you travel to the US, but that's more of an exception than the rule.