PayTag

 

 

Barclaycard has unveiled a stick-on credit card called PayTag, which will sit on the back of a mobile phone (or any other item you carry everywhere) and then be used to make small, contact-free payments.

The tiny sticker, which is about a third of the size of a traditional credit card, uses near-field-communication technology to transfer cash from your bank account to a contactless payment terminal. You just wave your device over the terminal, and you don't need to enter your PIN.

The idea is to open mobile payments to Barclaycard's 12 million customers, even if their mobile phone is not equipped with an NFC chip, or not set up for contactless transactions. Or even if they don't have a phone at all -- the sticker works on anything.

Right now, the sticker can be used to make payments of £15 and under, and it will rise to £20 in June 2012. That means it's suited for buying lunch, coffee, magazines and other bits and bobs. As such, retailers like Pret a Manger, McDonald's, Boots, WH Smith and Tesco are among the first to offer contactless payments.

Barclaycard's PayTag will launch in May, when a select group of its credit card customers will receive a sticker in the post. Later this year, all customers will be offered the free upgrade.