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You can now pay for things just by waving your Samsung Galaxy S3 at the till, as the S3 becomes the first Android phone to do Orange and Barclaycard’s Quick Tap contactless payment. And if you’re not convinced about paying for things with your phone, Orange and Barclaycard will give you fifty squids free money to try it out.
Whether you’ve been with Orange for a while or you join specially for this deal, just sign up or upgrade to a Samsung Galaxy S3 contract on Orange before 5 October and you’ll have £50 credited to your new phone to spend in shops.
The S3 has an NFC chip inside already, so all you have to do is download the free Quick Tap app and load it with moolah from your MasterCard or Visa debit or credit card.
You can load up £150 onto the phone, and spend up to £20 in one transaction. All you have to do at the till is tap your phone on the contactless bit of the shop’s Chip and PIN reader, or hold it there until it registers. There’s no need to enter a PIN, show a card or even unlock your phone — although you can set a PIN if you want the extra security.
Only selected shops have the right readers, but it does include lunchtastic chains such as McDonalds, M&S, Co-op Food, Prêt a Manger, Eat and Subway. If you’re a highway-wandering road warrior, you can also use your S3 to pay for the M6 toll road and Little Chef.
The S3’s contactless chops were first tested during the London 2012 Olympics, when a special Olympic S3 was issued to every athlete. Being a gold medal-level armchair athlete I also tried the no-touch payments on the S3 — click here to see how I got on paying for stuff with my S3.
The S3 with Quick Tap goes on sale on 5 September.
Barclaycard also lets you turn anything into a contactless payment gizmo with Barclaycard PayTag, a sticker with an NFC chip on it. Stick it to your phone, wallet or face and you can pay by pressing phone, wallet or phizzog to the reader.
Could your phone replace your wallet, or is cash still king? Tell me your thoughts in the comments or on our Facebook page.
