Orange adds Samsung Wave 578 to QuickTap rollout

Orange and Barclaycard have extended their Quick Tap contactless payment rollout with a second handset, Samsung's Wave 578.

The smartphone will be available within the next few weeks on Orange pay-as-you-go and selected monthly tariffs, and joins the Samsung Tocco Lite that Orange announced in May in association with Barclaycard.

"Paying with a mobile phone means never being without the right change, and always having access to funds. That's why I believe contactless mobile is the future of payments, and I'm keen that it's made available to as many of our customers as possible," said David Chan, chief executive of Barclaycard Consumer Europe.

The scheme allows the handset to be used to make payments for purchases of £15 or less at outlets equipped with near-field communication (NFC) pay points.

Over 50,000 stores nationwide now support this capability, including Pret a Manger, Eat, Little Chef, Wembley Arena, Subway, Wilkinson and McDonald's, according to Orange.

However, customers still need a Barclaycard, Barclays debit or Orange credit card to load the handset with up to £100 in credit.

The Wave 578 is based on Samsung's Bada platform, and features a 3.2in screen with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, HSDPA, GPS, a microSD card slot and 3.2-megapixel camera.

Google announced earlier this week that its Wallet application is now live and ready to use in the US to pay for goods and services wirelessly, as the march towards NFC gathers pace.