With so many credit cards on offer it's not surprising competition is fierce but it's been a while since anything truly innovative emerged. That is until now....
Credit card companies seem to like tinkering with their card incentives - cashback here, a loyalty point there - but I think it's been a while since we've seen anything truly innovative. That is until the launch of Barclaycard's OnePulse credit card earlier this week.
OnePulse is a three-in-one card which combines cashless payments and Oyster Card with a standard Barclaycard credit card. Although it isn't the only card to enable cashless transactions, it's the first of its kind to merge three payment systems into one. More than 4,000 people registered their interest in OnePulse on the Barclaycard website even before the official launch date which could be an indication of strong demand for this type of card technology.
So what unique benefits does Barclaycard OnePulse offer Londoners?
- A built-in Oyster card for cheap and easy travel around London
- Cashless payments using OneTouch - a new convenient way to pay for smaller items of £10 and under
- A standard credit card for larger transactions over £10 using chip and PIN
The built-in Oyster card allows Barclaycard OnePulse cardholders to benefit from the cheapest fares on the Transport for London network. OnePulse works in exactly the same way as Oyster does now with the same choice of pay-as-you-go or season ticket. Oyster is branded on the same card but it'll be kept separate from your credit card account.
The cashless OneTouch payment system uses UK contactless technology similar to Mastercard's recently launched PayPass system. OneTouch enables you to make small purchases of £10 or under by touching the card against a reader instead of entering your PIN or signature. So you won't need to mess about with cash when you want to buy a morning newspaper or a cup of coffee. And you can use OneTouch wherever you see the wave symbol or `Visa payWave' sign.
The OneTouch system is designed to be a secure and a convenient way of cutting down queuing time. I don't know about you but I find queues a major irritation and anything that can speed up the process gets a thumbs-up from me!
On top of all that OnePulse also allows you to use a standard chip and PIN Barclaycard for all larger transactions over £10. The standard interest rate is 14.9% APR (variable), but you'll pay 0% for six months after a purchase.
So does OnePulse cut it as the all singing, all dancing credit card? Well there's no attractive introductory offer on balance transfers so it isn't suitable for managing existing credit card debt.
And although the APR is fairly typical when you compare it to other high street banks, there are more competitive cards out there. There are also other 0% on new purchases credit cards which offer longer 0% periods than 6 months. The HSBC credit card, for example, offers 0% on new purchases for 12 months.
What's more, we don't yet know how many retailers will adopt the new contactless payment technology. OnePulse could reduce our reliance on cash, but only if more retailers welcome the system. Barclaycard expect a deluge of new stores to sign up soon, meaning OnePulse could be accepted at countless locations across the capital, but it isn't quite there yet.
If cashless payments become the way of the future, then it makes sense to combine it with your credit card. Barclaycard is among the first to use contactless technology but more are sure to follow suit. The cynics among us might argue this is simply a ploy by the credit card companies to encourage greater credit card spending where we would ordinarily pay with cash. But if you're a London-based Fool who repays your balance in full every month, I think OnePulse is a rather nifty idea.
>Don't forget that you can use The Fool to compare credit cards of every kind.