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Innovative ‘pocket checkout’ aims to remove the need to queue in stores

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Barclaycard is trialling a new ‘pocket checkout’ payment method that could mean shoppers no longer need to queue to pay in stores.

Grab+Go, by contrast, turns the user’s smartphone into a portable checkout: they first scan the items they want to buy using the smartphone camera before paying with a single click on an ‘I’m done’ button that calls on pre-loaded payment details and stores a receipt in the app.

The experience has echoes of Amazon Go in that it removes the need to queue at a physical checkout. But the Amazon Go app differs in that it automatically registers items that shoppers take from the shelves, and finalises the purchase when they leave, sending a receipt.

Barclaycard is currently trialling the Grab+Go app in staff restaurants in London, and will move on to test it in its US offices before rolling out to the public.

It says the technology has been designed to allow consumers and merchants to take advantage of ‘invisible payments’. This practice of removing the payment process from a purchase journey is commonplace within many mobile apps but not on the high street and removes the need to enter card details, a PIN, or even swipe or tap for every transaction.

Usman Sheikh, director of design and experimentation at Barclaycard , said: “One of the key customer frustrations with shopping is the time spent queuing to pay for items they want to buy – especially when they are in a hurry. Using the latest technology, we’ve developed Grab+Go to streamline the shopping experience by removing the need to physically check out every time you want to buy something.

“The way in which people shop and pay has evolved significantly over the past decade, and as the use of mobile and wearable payments grows, we are constantly looking at how we can use technology to make our customers’ lives easier.

“An important part of this trial will be getting feedback from colleagues, as well as the operators in the staff restaurants, to further develop the product and proposal. Once the final version is complete, it will be available to our clients to help revolutionise payments in their own businesses.”

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