Barclaycard Trials Travel Card

22nd March 2007

Barclaycard has completed technical trials of a smart card that combines contactless payment, traditional credit card and Oyster travel features. The company has signed an exclusive three-year contract to combine Visa with the Oyster travel card, paving the way for contactless payments in London.

The company has been testing the smart card with about 80 staff at its Northampton office, and will now widen the pilot to another 2,000 employees prior to a full rollout which will take place later in the year. The trial will test the robustness of the system and whether or not it can process both payment and travel transactions quickly enough.

Cardholders will be able to pay for items by waving the card over a contactless reader in participating shops, potentially speeding up transactions. The payment method could be used for values of less than £10 at fast food outlets, coffee shops, newsagents, off licences, bars, pubs and also for parking facilities.

The customer base for the combined Visa and Oyster travel card will grow as the travel payment system is extended to mainline rail operators over the next couple of years from it's current usage on the London Underground.