7 Payment Innovations from Barclays

July 4, 2014 3:00 AM

A customer displays her Barclays Plc debit card for this arranged photograph inside a bank branch in Karachi, Pakistan, on Thursday, Aug. 15, 2013. Barclays, the U.K.s second-largest lender by assets, expects its Pakistan unit to post record profit this year as cost cutting measures help it weather interest rates at a seven-year low. Photographer: Asim Hafeez/Bloomberg

Asim Hafeez/Bloomberg

Barclays has experimented with a number of mobile, wearable and online payment systems in its quest to bring its payment offerings into the modern age. Through its tests and live deployments of new technology around the world, the London-based issuer has learned how to entice consumers to move beyond plastic cards. (Image: Bloomberg News)

Valerie Soranno Keating, chief executive officer of Barclaycard, the consumer credit-card division of Barclays Plc, holds a Samsung Electronics Co. smartphone with the company's PayTag contactless payment sticker attached to it, during a Bloomberg Television interview in London, U.K., on Friday, June 13, 2014. The pound reached the strongest level in 19 months against the euro after Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said the institution may raise interest rates from a record low earlier than investors expected. Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg *** Local Caption *** Valerie Soranno Keating

Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg

PayTag

PayTag, a sticker meant to be adhered to the back of a smartphone, enables any U.K. Barclaycard customer to make mobile payments. The bank has issued more than 1 million paytags since the product's 2012 launch. (Image: Bloomberg News)

bPay App

In the U.S., where Near Field Communication is not as widespread as in other regions, Barclaycard tested a bPay app that used the phone's built-in camera to scan QR codes. Though the test ended on April 15, the bPay app is still available to download on the iTunes and Google Play app stores. (Image: ShutterStock)

Valerie Soranno Keating, chief executive officer of Barclaycard, the consumer credit-card division of Barclays Plc, wears the company's new bPay PayBand, a wearable contactless payment device, during a Bloomberg Television interview in London, U.K., on Friday, June 13, 2014. The pound reached the strongest level in 19 months against the euro after Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said the institution may raise interest rates from a record low earlier than investors expected. Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg *** Local Caption *** Valerie Soranno Keating

Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg

bPay PayBand

The contactless payment wristband launches this month in the U.K. after two years of limited tests at music festivals and other events. It has the same functionality as a contactless payment card or PayTag. (Image: Bloomberg News)

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Pingit

Pingit is a person-to-person payments app that Barclays launched in 2012 and updated last year to support business payments such as refunds and insurance claims. The functionality is meant to reduce the costs associated with card payments.

Buyit

Buyit, based on Pingit, lets consumers use the Pingit app to scan QR codes from in-store advertisements, enabling purchases directly from a consumer's bank account. (Image: ShutterStock)

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Isis

Barclays was the first issuer to sign on for the U.S. telcos' Isis mobile wallet during its limited tests. However, the issuer did not did not stay on when Isis went ahead with its nationwide launch in 2013. (Pictured: An early version of the Isis wallet)

Wolfe, Daniel

PayWag?

This April Fool's joke combined PayTag with a dog collar. Though it wasn't a real product, PayWag is not much different from the bPay PayBand that Barclays unveiled a year later. Perhaps it was an early prototype?

Simon

Beyond Credit Cards

Barclays' philosophy is driven by the realization that consumers have moved past plastic. "These days, the consumer payments industry is much broader than just credit cards ... while credit cards are still important, customers are looking for new ways to pay online and via mobile," says Valerie Soranno Keating, CEO of Barclaycard and one of PaymentsSource's Most Influential Women in Payments.