Barclaycard and its contactless bPay technology has partnered with fashion brand Lyle & Scott to create a jacket that can be used to make contactless payments in the same way consumers would use a contactless card – by tapping the sleeve against pay points.
The jacket – which is going on-sale online and in the brand’s Carnaby Street store in London – has space in the cuff for a contactless payment chip, like those found in debit and credit cards.
Technology is being increasingly embraced by fashion, as smartwatches and other wearable technology become more widely available.
Last year, before it launched, the Apple Watch appeared on the cover of the Chinese edition of Vogue.
Lyle & Scott has created an innovation team to launch “ground-breaking products” designed to fit this growing trend, of which the jacket will be the first.
“We are a brand that embraces our heritage, however we understand that it is extremely important to stay in touch with the needs of our modern customers,” said the firm’s innovation project manager, Jonathan Briggs.
“Innovation is key to realising this, and so we are proud to partner with bPay to launch the world’s first contactless payment jacket.”
According to statistics from the UK Cards Association the number of contactless payments in the UK rose by 331 per cent in 2014.
Mobile and contactless payments are becoming increasingly accessible to consumers, with Barclaycard also offering bPay contactless wristbands and key fobs into which contactless chips can be inserted.
Apple Pay is now also live in the UK, enabling iPhone 6 and Apple Watch users to pay using contactless and September 1st saw the contactless per transaction limit raised from £20 to £30.
Both Samsung and Android are also set to launch their own versions of this technology for smartphones later this year.
