Orange Quick Tap Brings Contactless Payments To Samsung Galaxy S III

Samsung Galaxy S III users on Orange will be able to make contactless payments using its QuickTap service from this Thursday, the operator has confirmed.

Quick Tap was launched by Orange and BarclayCard last year and is the first commercial Near Field Communication payment system to be based on a mobile phone in the UK. It lets users make contactless payments of up to £20 by simply tapping their phone at a payment terminal.

New and upgrading customers who activate the service between 5 September and 5 October will receive £50 to spend free of charge at more than 100,000 retail outlets in the UK, including the likes of McDonalds, Marks & Spencer and Subway.

Orange Quick Tap

The service is activated by downloading a dedicated application to a Samsung Galaxy S III handset, after which funds of up to £150 can be loaded onto a QuickTap account through a MasterCard or Visa credit or debit card. The app keeps track of purchases and account balances and is protected by a PIN. Users can also elect to use a PIN when making contactless payments if they wish.

The Samsung Galaxy S III was recently named the official phone of the 2012 Olympic Games in London and allowed selected athletes to make contactless payments at retail locations around the Olympic Park using the rival Visa PayWave System.

“We are really excited to be launching Quick Tap payments on one of the most popular smartphones of the year,” said Simeon Bird, director of propositions at Orange UK. “Contactless mobile payments are a secure and convenient alternative to cash and cards and we are pleased to be the first network brand in the UK to offer its customers such an innovative service.”

“Mobile payments are safe and have a full fraud guarantee and we’ve seen ever growing numbers of people using contactless to make quick and secure payments of up to £20,” added Tom Gregory, head of digital payments at Barclaycard.

Last Week, Everything Everywhere announced a five year partnership with MasterCard to develop mobile and payment products for its 27 million T-Mobile and Orange customers, including person-to-person money transfers.

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