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IN VIDEO: Barclaycard marks 30th anniversary of electronic payments

It’s now 30 years since electronic card payments were introduced in the UK, transforming the face of retail forever.

Barclaycard has released the original launch video from 1986 when a blue and white blouse was paid for at Miss Selfridge in Brent Cross Shopping Centre using a Barclaycard and PDQ (Process Data Quickly) terminal.

https://youtu.be/KYHd0_DBWt4

Three decades later and Barclaycard processed 4.6 billion such transactions in the UK in 2015, up 16% on the previous year. One million PDQ terminals are now thought to be operating in the UK.

James McDonald, Director of Innovation and Strategic Initiatives, Barclaycard said: “In 1986, when we first launched PDQ, the demand for payment innovation was driven by the merchants’ need for a more secure and more efficient way of taking card payments. Over the past 30 years, the payments process has transformed at a rapid rate, leading to the development of the quickest and most convenient payment methods we’ve ever seen, such as contactless and wearables.

“Looking ahead to the next three decades, we will continue to see payment innovation evolve as providers focus on putting customer experience at the heart of new innovation. While advances in mobile technology in particular will continue to improve in the immediate future, further down the line we could be heading towards a world where payment by finger print, or even by retina, eventually become the norm.”

James Buttery

Editor of WatchPro, the WatchPro Hot 100 and The Luxury Report.

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