It is one third of the size of a standard credit card, with a sticky reverse side. It will be sent without charge to customers who request it and will come in addition to their regular credit card. The credit card provider believes that people should stick it to the back of their mobile phone handset because most adults carry their phone with them at all times. Cardholders may choose to attach it to their wallet or a key ring, instead. Managing director of DCM said “with the credit card being so small will benefit many people in everyday activities e.g. buying food. This will save them time instead of taking out money, so all they would have to do is swipe the small card.”
However, the implication is that a big take-up would eventually allow Barclaycard to approach mobile phone manufacturers with evidence that inserting a payment chip in a handset would be popular. David Chan, chief executive of Barclaycard Consumer Europe, said he wanted the product to "open people's eyes to mobile payments". A source at DCM stated, “putting a payment chip in handsets would be a good idea and could make wallets a thing of the past, imagine just having all your money ready for you in one swipe.”
Some users may worry that a card visibly stuck to the back of their phone makes it more attractive to thieves. But if a card is used fraudulently, banks must make refunds without question. If the card is used differently to the cardholder's normal habits, then Barclaycard will contact the customer to check there are no security issues. Managing director of DCM said, “this is a concern which I’m glad they thought about for it would put customers off getting a mini credit card for their phone.”
