UK credit card firm Barclaycard, whose parent Barclays has held off embracing Apple Pay, is to add a NFC-based payment feature to its existing Android app.

In addition, the card firm is adding an unusual feature to the Android app, which enables users to have a lost or stolen card replaced by a virtual one while they wait for a replacement card to be delivered in the post.

Barclaycard claims it is the first financial services provider in the UK to introduce contactless payments for any NFC-based Android phone via its app. The new feature is available in November.

Customers using this feature can pay for transactions up to £30 (the current limit for all users) just by touching their device against a payment terminal.

However, Barclaycard users will be able to go higher to £100 by entering a PIN on their mobile device.

Separately, MasterCard said last week it will lift the payments limit altogether for Europe in 2017.

Barclays’ lack of support to date for Apple Pay is a glaring omission among leading UK banks. It is particularly striking in the case of Barclays, which otherwise is a leader in mobile payments, thanks to services such as Pingit and the bPay devices, which enable point-of-sale payments.