Orange turns Samsung Galaxy S III into 'Quick Tap' payments device
![david-meyer.jpg](https://www.zdnet.com/a/img/resize/4e0d2eda83f664c9ba1b2a8c087d894db6b69fc8/2014/07/22/0bd49813-1175-11e4-9732-00505685119a/david-meyer.jpg?auto=webp&fit=crop&frame=1&height=192&width=192)
Samsung's Galaxy S III is to be the first of Orange's Android phones to gain compatibility with the operator's Quick Tap contactless payments system, run in conjunction with Barclaycard.
![Mobile payments](https://www.zdnet.com/a/img/resize/8c930dab91e6aa623a06d86745d368973e972234/2014/10/05/46fd6b09-4cca-11e4-b6a0-d4ae52e95e57/mobile-payments.jpg?auto=webp&width=1280)
The 'mobile wallet' scheme has been running since May 2011, when Orange and Barclaycard introduced it on the Samsung Tocco Quick Tap, a basic featurephone. The system is based on near-field communication (NFC) technology, which is fast becoming a staple feature of smartphones, and now Quick Tap has come to the flagship Android smartphone of the day.
According to Orange and Barclaycard, anyone who buys an Orange Samsung Galaxy S III from Wednesday, and who has a UK MasterCard or Visa card, will be able to use the handset to make contactless payments of up to £20.
The operator is also giving £50 to anyone who activates the service between 5 September and 5 October.
"We are really excited to be launching Quick Tap payments on one of the most popular smartphones of the year," Orange UK propositions director Simeon Bird said in a statement.
A spokesperson for Orange told ZDNet UK that those who have already picked up a Galaxy S III from the operator should be able to use Quick Tap by the end of October.
Mobile wallet schemes
NFC-based payments have been taking off slowly in the UK, with fairly fragmented schemes cooked up by operators and banking providers.
The Orange-Barclaycard tie-in was the first. Since then, Everything Everywhere — the company behind the Orange and T-Mobile brands in the UK — has announced a partnership with MasterCard, and Vodafone has done the same with Visa.
There was supposed to be a joint venture between all the operators except for Three — no explanation was given as to why Three was excluded — but that is currently on ice while the European Commission decides whether to block it on antitrust grounds.