Barclaycard and Lyle & Scott have teamed up to launch a contactless payment jacket powered by bPay. The Contactless Jacket, which features the same contactless payment chip found in debit/credit cards discretely hidden in the cuff of the right sleeve, allows the wearer to pay for anything to £30 across 300,000 shops, bars, restaurants and stations around the UK.
The double-faced, hooded jacket is available from the heritage brand in Admiral Blue and True Black and costs £150.
Read this: IFA 2015 - what to expect in wearable tech
Like smartwatches and Barclaycard's own contactless gloves trial, the jacket is a sensible choice for this project as it's a garment that's worn day in, day out. Still, time will tell how many jackets are being produced and whether this is more than a gimmick. After our tale of wearable tech awkwardness with the bPay band, we're also intrigued to see how easy it is to indicate we want to pay by jacket.
Lyle & Scott's collaboration between its new innovation team and Barclaycard is strategic - the announcement is timed with the contactless limit increasing from £20 to £30. And the contactless payment industry grew more than 300 percent in 2014, according to the UK Cards Association.
"Insight from our customers has found that people want contactless payments to be seamless, fast and convenient, however the style and look of the product is also incredibly important," said Mike Saunders, managing director of digital consumer payments at Barclaycard.
"The combination of the heritage of a brand like Lyle & Scott, with the latest payments technology from bPay will further advance contactless payments as being the easiest and quickest way to buy everyday things – be it a morning coffee, quick trip to the supermarket, or a bus trip across town."
The Contactless Jacket will go on sale on 2 September from Lyle & Scott's Carnaby Street store and online store. Shipping is free but UK only.
How we test