Barclays to launch HCE mobile payments in the UK

The service will coexist alongside the Contactless Mobile HCE payment function that was added by Barclays in January 2016, enabling customers to make transactions at any contactless terminal and pay for services across Transport for London (TfL) with a tap of their Android device using either a debit or credit card.

Customers will be able to decide which mobile app they want to use as only one payment app can be set as the default app for contactless payments on an Android handset, NFC World reports. Additionally, Barclays debit cards and Barclaycard credit cards are automatically shown in the app and customers can view their Contactless Mobile transactions alongside their other account transactions.

The announcement follows the bank`s initiative to add support for Apple Pay across the UK, enabling its customers with iOS devices to make NFC payments at the point of sale.