heading down the road to extinction, a fate that could ultimately
also await plastic payments cards as mobile communications and
banking continue to converge.
Convergence is strikingly evident in a
strategic alliance between UK bank Barclays Barclaycard unit and
mobile network operator Orange UK which the partners believe
heralds “the biggest revolution in payments since plastic cards
were introduced over 40 years ago.”
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The partners leave no doubt that the mobile
phone will play a key role in what they promise will be new
jointly-developed, co-branded products and services.
“Today you pay for things by cash or on your
credit card. Tomorrow, you’ll use your mobile to buy the things you
want, whether that’s on the high street or the internet,” said
Orange UK’s CEO Tom Alexander.
Underscoring this point, Barclaycard’s CEO
Antony Jenkins commented: “There has been a lot of talk about
mobile payments and now it’s going to become a reality for our
customers because of Barclaycard’s commitment to contactless
technology and the coming together of two dynamic and imaginative
organisations.”
The partnership will have a substantial target
market, with Orange UK reporting 15.9 million active mobile
customers and Barclaycard 11.7 million customers in the UK.
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By GlobalDataOther areas of contactless payments that
Barclaycard and Orange UK will explore include ticketing, transport
and rewards. MasterCard will provide the payment capabilities for
transactions.
Barclaycard has thrown its weight behind
contactless payments in the UK and currently has some 1.5 million
contactless enabled cards in issue UK-wide with the number expected
to reach 6 million by the end of 2009.
