Orange UK and credit card firm Barclaycard are on track to launch a commercial mobile payments service based on Near Field Communications (NFC) technology by the end of the year, according to reports. Sarah Mansfield, Barclaycard’s head of innovation marketing, revealed the timeframe in a recent presentation, reports NFC World. Mansfield said that NFC-enabled phones will allow Orange users to make contactless mobile payments at merchants. In addition, the service will offer applications for both Apple’s iPhone and smartphones based on Google’s Android platform that will use augmented reality to enable customers to find local stores equipped with NFC terminals.

The launch will build upon a long-standing relationship between the France Telecom-owned operator and Barclaycard, the credit card subsidiary of UK bank Barclays. The two firms announced a year ago they were working on developing mobile contactless services, and in January this year they jointly launched an Orange credit card. The launch was described as “the latest step in Orange and Barclaycard’s long-term strategic partnership aimed at introducing a broad range of mobile, financial and payment services to evolve the way consumers make payment transactions in the UK.” Barclaycard CEO Antony Jenkins predicted last year that “all our UK customers will be able to use their mobile phones to pay for everyday items within three years.”