Earlier today we wrote that Android users who bank will Barclays Bank will finally be able to use their handsets for contactless payments when the bank released its own app – but now we’ve learnt that it’s a seriously flawed app.
It was bad enough for some customers that Barclays decided to go it alone and not user the standard Android Pay app that most other UK banks have embraced. Instead, the bank made their customers wait until they finally got around to releasing their own version and – as we’ve just found out – it’s a thoroughly pointless offering.
Every time we tried to set up the service on our Android handset, we were served up a vague, “Something’s Gone Wrong” message.
An exchange of tweets with @BarclaysUKHelp proved a fruitless endeavour, with the bank finally suggesting that we should ring up their help desk.
After an interminable wait we learnt the reason why the app doesn’t work: if a Barclays customer also has a personal account and a business account registered with the mobile app, then the contactless service is unavailable.
Yes, that’s right: Barclays will punish users who are daft enough to chose to host their personal and business banking with the company, and anyone doing so will miss out on having a contactless service on their handset.
Oh wait: after another lengthy phone call we were assured that having a business account should make no difference at all and the fault lay at the door of the information services Experian who run the service for Barclays. So it’s a cock up their end. Or something.
Quite why we were told two completely conflicting stories remains a mystery but one thing we do know is that we still can’t use this bloody contactless service and we;ve been given a right royal runaround today.
Time to look for another bank….
