Barclaycard has announced that you'll be able to make NFC payments using your Android smartphone through the Barclaycard app as of November. 

With Android Pay yet to land in the UK, Barclaycard appears to be forging its own route to smartphone payments, offering a couple of enhanced features for users above and beyond the current contactless system.

You'll be able to make standard £30 contactless payments using NFC on your Android phone. However, you'll also be able to make contactless payments up to £100 by entering a PIN in the Barclaycard app, meaning you'll be able to pay for larger items without getting your card out.

Barclaycard say that once the contactless service is activated in the app, you won't have to open it up to make those £30 payments - you can just tap and go, without using a PIN or needing a fingerprint.

barclaycard to offer nfc payments up to 100 on android smartphones image 2
Barclaycard

There will also be a card replacement service. If you lose your card, Barclaycard can instantly replace it in the app, so you don't have to wait for the card to arrive in the post.

There's currently no date for Android Pay to land in the UK, but it seems that Barclaycard isn't waiting, rolling out the new services through its existing app in November. 

However, some may see this as fragmentation of the mobile payments space. If you have a Samsung Android phone, for example, you'll potentially be faced with the option to pay via Samsung Pay, Android Pay as well as dedicated single-brand payment apps like this one from Barclaycard.

The hook here is the additional features specific to the Barclaycard app, that may tempt you to choose its app over your other options.