Barclaycard has begun trialling a brand new payment concept that streamlines the way consumers buy low-value goods by allowing them to scan and pay for their shopping using their smartphone, without the need to visit a physical checkout.

Grab+Go transforms a smartphone into a ‘pocket checkout’, allowing users to simply scan the items they want to buy as they pick them and then complete their purchase with a single click and walk out of a store.

Barclaycard, which has been at the forefront of payments innovation since it introduced the UK’s first credit card in 1966, has developed the concept in a bid to make purchasing and paying quicker and easier for both consumers and merchants.

Users download the Grab+Go app, create an account and pre-load their payment details, and then use their smartphone camera to scan the barcode on items as they go. When finished, they click ‘I’m done’ and walk out; payment is taken seamlessly and invisibly in the background and the receipt is stored in the app.

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

As well as saving shoppers time by removing the need to queue, Grab+Go offers merchants a brand new, additional way of serving their customers and to meet their demand for quicker, easier and more convenient ways of buying goods.

The concept is currently being trialled by Barclays and Barclaycard colleagues in the staff restaurant in London with Northampton, Teesside and Wilmington in the US to follow shortly – ahead of a planned public roll out.

Usman Sheikh, Director of Design & 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.”