14 December 2006
Barclaycard has announced that it has teamed up with the brains behind the capital's Oystercard scheme to produce a single card that consumers can use for their travel and to pay for their purchases bought when commuting to and from work.
Over six million Oystercards are currently in use in London, proving the popularity of the quick, contact-less, cash-free payment method.
Now Barclaycard has thrown its weight behind the development of a new card to place Oyster and Barclaycard Visa on one piece of plastic, thought to be available from early next year.
The Barclaycard will be wave-and-pay ready, allowing users to pay for items up to £10 in a quick, contact-less way, as well as being standard chip and Pin enabled and having an Oystercard.
Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, welcomed the news, stating: "This new deal will mean that from next year people can buy low-cost items and take advantage of Oyster fares on the same card, reducing the need to carry cash."
Sandra Alzetta, senior vice-president for consumer market development at Visa Europe, said the card would be Europe's first multi-function contact-less card, according to a Reuters report.
Antony Jenkins, Barclaycard's chief executive, added: "Putting Oyster and Barclaycard together makes life even easier for Londoners and takes our customers an important step closer to fully contact-less card payments elsewhere."
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