Retailers buy into Zapp mobile wallet

Large retailers such as Sainsbury’s and House of Fraser will allow customers to pay using the Zapp mobile wallet service from next year..

Over 30 shops and service providers will support the mobile payments service, which in total can potentially support over 35 million users to pay for goods through integration with banking applications.

James Frost, chief marketing officer of Worldpay UK, said the high street is leading the charge for mobile payments for fast and easy sales. "One in three people in the UK are already using cashless apps and nearly half of UK shoppers are using their phone in-store to check prices, with Zapp’s latest partnerships likely only to accelerate this trend.”

The announcement comes just weeks after hardware giant Apple announced its mobile wallet Apple Pay, which is not yet available in the UK, for use with the iPhone 6 and Apple Watch.

Although mobile retail accounted for 32% of online sales between November 2013 and January 2014, some mobile wallet innovations have been unsuccessful, and earlier this year Mobile operator O2 has announced it will no longer support its mobile wallet and plans to invest in alternative m-commerce initiatives.

Earlier this year, Zapp announced HSBC, First Direct, Nationwide, Santander and Metro Bank have all signed up to allow Zapp payments. Barclays continues to offer its own rival Pingit banking app, and RBS has yet to announce plansBut banks are under more and more pressure to provide mobile banking services. A report by the Future Foundation found more than 50% of UK smartphone users are buying items with their devices, but almost 60% would feel more confident doing so if they could use an app provided by their bank.

The Zapp mobile wallet solution, which is part of Vocalink, will be available in the beginning of 2015.