Barclaycard has created a contactless self-serving beer pump to help cut bar queues on nights out.
Called Pay @ Pump, the prototype has been designed to help speed up drinks service during busy times of year, including Christmas, by enabling customers to select their drink of choice, pay by tapping their contactless card or device against the base of the pump and then place a glass on it to begin pouring their drink automatically.
The whole process is said to take 60 seconds.
The pump has been created in the wake of Barclaycard research that claims almost a quarter of us (24%) have considered abandoning a drinks purchase because of long queues at the bar, while 20% of those surveyed said they had left a bar or pub and gone elsewhere because of queues.
Barclaycard's Tami Hargreaves said: "I'm sure everyone has been stuck behind the person who orders the most complicated cocktail on the menu or a round of 10 drinks for their group of friends.
"When people told us that waiting time was one of their biggest annoyances, we wanted to help solve a common problem with a simple solution. Pay @ Pump could easily be the answer; by putting the festive cheer back into buying beer – a win-win for both bars and bar-goers."
The desire for more contactless methods of payment are increasing, Barclaycard claims, with their research suggesting 28% would like to see contactless system made available in every bar and pub nationwide.
According to the firm's Contactless Spending Index, the number of contactless payments has increased by 112% in the past year.