UK credit card company Barclaycard has unveiled a new bankcard that combines the Oyster, the smartcard used on the Transport for London(TfL) network, with credit facilities.
The new three-in-one card, called Barclaycard OnePulse, will be launched across the country's capital this September using contactless technology.
Cardholders can use the card to make a minimum travel purchase of £10 by touching their card against a reader instead of entering a PIN number or signature. These transactions are then listed on the cardholder's credit card statement.
At present 10 million Oyster cards have been issued for use on London's Tube network, Docklands Light Railway (DLR) and Tramlink.
The card works using radio frequency identification technology (RFID), which uses a chip to calculate the right journey fare within a fifth of a second from up to 1.83 million permutations.
Since the introduction of Oyster the proportion of cash payments on the London Underground and bus network has fallen to less than 5%.
Millions of commuters in Hong Kong have been using contactless technology with the Octopus card since 1997. The Octopus card can be used on all forms of transport, including airport express services, as well as in convenience and retail stores who accept the card as a method of payment.
By Ozge Ibrahim
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