Barclays Contactless bPay Introduces Key Fob and Stickers

bPay has added three new devices to its contactless wearable line of payments: a key fob, stickers that consumers can stick to mobiles or anywhere else, and an update wristband. Any consumer with a Visa or MasterCard credit card registered in the United Kingdom can use these bPay gadgets similar to a contactless card and pay for everyday products and services.

Just like contactless cards, bPay wearable devices are limited to a purchase amount of less £20, and a lot of top line UK retailers and restaurants are currently accepting payments via this new service from Barclays. For example, McDonald’s, Marks & Spencer, Waitrose, WHSmith, and Starbucks in the United Kingdom currently accepts Barclays bPay payments.

One key difference between contactless cards and bPay is that users must “preload” money into their bPay account, making it similar to a digital wallet service with a prepaid debit card.

Since almost everyone has a smartphone, the sticker would instantly turn the smartphone into a contactless payment device and has the potential to become the most popular bPay device. Barclays bPay accounts can also be managed via their iPhone and Android apps.

bPay priced its wristband at £24.99, where the key fob would cost consumers slightly less, £19.99. However, the most interesting bPay device, the sticker, is priced at only £14.99.

Some analysts have compared bPay with Apple Pay, which was launched in the United Kingdom in July. Barclays was the only high street UK bank that was not in the supported bank list and with this latest expansion of bPay devices, they would be the key competitor to Apple Pay in the wearable payment market in the United Kingdom.

Currently, UK consumers spend around £19,000 every second by paying for goods and services with a debit or credit card, where amounts less than £20 makes up the majority of the transaction volume, making it a lucrative market into which bPay can expand.