Barclaycard launches OnePulse in conjunction with Oyster

by Gill Montia

Story link: Barclaycard launches OnePulse in conjunction with Oyster

Barclaycard is launching a combined Oyster and credit card in London, in September of this year.

Barclaycard, Visa and Transport for London have joined forces to link the capital’s Oyster card system, which is run by the TranSys consortium, to a bank card that will allow a contactless payment system.

Holders of the OnePulse card will be able to pay for purchases under £10 by swiping the card in front of readers in shops, car parks and on vending machines.

Barclaycard is currently recruiting large numbers of retailers, including newsagents, coffee shops and cafés, who will install the card readers at their tills.

It is also negotiating with the manufacturers of vending machines and is developing a debit card version of the OnePulse.

The payment system, which will be the first of its kind in the UK, has been trialled by Barclaycard employees at its Canary Wharf headquarters.

However, concerns have expressed about the speed at which small OnePluse card payments will be processed, as consumers could become frustrated if the process takes longer than handing over cash.

To date over 10 million Oyster cards have been issued and 38 million journeys a week are made using them, accounting for approximately three quarters of all Tube and bus payments.