World first car boot sale to accept payment by mobile
In what is believed to be a world first, a selection of car boot traders at renowned UK designers Wayne and Gerardine Hemingway’s Classic Car Boot Sale, which was held this weekend (20th – 21st September), accepted payment by Barclays innovative mobile payment app, Barclays Pingit.
Vintage devotees, who attended the event at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, were able to buy classic and collectible items, such as vinyl records and vintage clothes, with their mobile phones. Pingit payments were made by customers using the QR code reader within the app by scanning a unique QR code, either on the trader’s classic vehicle (some dating back as early as 1910) or available through the trader’s smart phone. The payments were transferred within 30 seconds to the seller’s bank account.
Highlights among the traders who accepted payment by Pingit included Crystal Vintage’s GLORIA Pop Up Boutique, a horsebox-turned-vintage-shop that has been featured on Channel 4’s George Clark’s Amazing Spaces. Owner Chloe Le Fay globally sources 1920s-80s clothing and accessories from highly collectable labels such as Chanel and Dior.
Wayne Hemingway MBE said: “Gerardine and I started off our careers selling second-hand clothes from Camden Market back in 1981. Back then it was the norm for shoppers to carry cash and we would get home with pouches stuffed with it. Today few of us carry much cash around and it’s tricky because sometimes it prevents us from buying stuff on a whim. I myself have been in the situation many a time where I have come across a market , spotted a Northern Soul record or 60s suit that I just have to have , find myself with no cash , a trader who can’t accept card and a 15 minute queue at the cashpoint . Barclays Pingit solves this one – I’m glad traders at my event are embracing it”.
To help both traders and customers embrace the digital revolution and pay for their vintage items in a brand new and convenient way, Barclays Digital Eagles were on hand to actively encourage and educate attendees on how to make the most of Pingit at the event.
Launched in May 2013 with 18 employees, Barclays has now rolled out 8,000 Digital Eagles across the UK. These are specially trained members of staff on hand in and out of all Barclays branches who provide free technology advice to both customers and non-customers.
Darren Foulds, director of mobile and Pingit at Barclays said: “By having some traders accept payment by Pingit, it shows the potential for mobile payments in what is typically a cash-based event. It also means fast and secure transactions on the go – whether from person-to-person or, as in this case, to transfer money from a bank account to a small business who benefit by enabling payments to be accepted without paying any fees.”
The Centre for Economic and Business Research predicts that, by 2020, 20 million adults will use their mobiles to pay for goods and services and that the total value of mobile payments will reach £18.1bn by 2018 (the combined value of all mobile purchases and bank-to-bank transfers).
Since it launched in February 2012, Barclays Pingit will have been downloaded over 3.2 million times and the total amount of money sent using the service has reached £680m. In the first half of this year, Londoners alone sent over £95m on the app.
In 2013, Pingit was updated to include a QR code reader that enabled consumers to buy items simply by scanning a code to make a payment and have items sent direct to their home address. Barclays Pingit is also being embraced by a growing number of small businesses that want to be able to accept mobile payments but don’t want to invest in credit card payments systems.
