Since last Friday, May 20, several UK retail chains, including McDonald's fast food restaurants, EAT and Pret-a-Manger coffee shops, and some Boots pharmacies, have introduced new devices that allow you to hold your smartphone to a payment device, reports TorgRus. However, there is one limitation: the maximum purchase amount allowed is €17.

Since last Friday, May 20, several retail chains in the UK, including McDonald's fast food restaurants, EAT and Pret-a-Manger coffee shops, as well as some Boots pharmacies, have been offering new devices that require you to hold your smartphone up to to pay for goods, reports TorgRus. But there is one limitation - the amount you can spend this way on a purchase should not exceed 17 euros.

You can also only go shopping with a certain phone, reports the BBC. To do this, you need a smartphone that supports Quick Tap. You also need to sign a contract with the service providers - mobile operator Orange and Barclaycard (the branch of Barclays bank that issues credit cards).

"This technology will start a revolution in the payment system in retail," - boldly declares Pippa Dunn, vice president of Orange.

The Quick Tap system is based on Near Field Communication (NFC) technology.

A smartphone equipped with Quick Tap also went on sale on May 20 - it is the Samsung Tocco Lite. Other mobile phone manufacturers are expected to roll out their NFC-enabled models soon.

Other mobile operators are also planning to offer a service similar to Quick Tap.

As early as August, it will be possible to pay for travel on the M6 ​​motorway using a NFC-enabled phone.

O2 has tested the ability to pay for travel using a smartphone on the London Underground, and by the 2012 Olympic Games this technology should allow people to pay for travel on public transport and make certain purchases in London.

Giles Ubags, an analyst at marketing firm Datamonitor, believes that using NFC-enabled phones to pay for purchases is an "important first step" in popularizing the technology. However, the analyst argues that most people are unlikely to actively use the service.

Ubags says that one of the best ways to spread the use of the technology is to offer a certain discount to those who pay for purchases using a smartphone.

Source: allretail.com.ua