Barclaycard dips into checkout-free shopping

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
May 30, 2017

Multinational credit card and payment services provider Barclaycard is planning to launch a new mobile app that will put an end to long checkout queues.

Offering a similar concept to Amazon’s futuristic Go stores, the Barclaycard Grab+Go app allows users to scan the items the want to buy with their smartphone camera and then complete their purchase with a single click, avoiding the dreaded checkout queues.

The technology helps customers save time when shopping and removes a key customer frustration, said Barclaycard. Retailers could integrate the tech within their own existing apps or run the service through the Barclaycard app.

The initiative is being currently tested by staffers at the company’s headquarters in London, with a high street pilot set to launch in the next year. The company said it is already in talks with a number of household names, including supermarkets, about implementing the service.

The app will be also trialled at offices in Northampton, Teeside, and New York and Wilmington in the US in the coming weeks.

Amazon is also testing its own checkout-free shops, however the retailer’s concept uses tracking technology, cameras and sensors to detect when products are taken from or returned to the selves, to ensure customers pay the right amount for their shopping.

The company is expected to launch a checkout-free shop in the UK soon.