Barclays joins wearable tech revolution with contactless payment wristbands
Barclays has become one of the first banks to join the wearable tech fray with the launch of a contactless payment wristband which allows the wearer to make payments from one of 300,000 UK terminals and even gain entry to events
The bPay band will undergo a limited roll-out at sponsored events such as the British Summer Time music festival this year before its public launch in 2015 as part of wider efforts to encourage consumers to ditch cash for digital.
Managed by Barclaycard the gadgets will employ the same technology as in existing credit and debit cards and will be free of charge to all users (not just Barclays customers)– although retailers will be expected to pay a small transaction fee.
Barclays’ fashion foray follows publication of forecasts indicating that cash transactions will account for less than half of all transfers for the first time year, after falling to an all-time low of 53 per cent in 2013.