Retailers including WHSmith and Superdrug will be able to accept payments via mobile phones from next year, following a deal between mobile company Zapp and payments processor WorldPay.

The Zapp app is designed to be integrated with retailers’ existing online and mobile checkouts, as well as shoppers’ online banking apps.

Zapp says the service can be used in conjunction with any till system that a retailer has implemented. The Zapp app can also be embedded in current mobile banking applications.

The service will involve a code being sent to a customer’s smartphone at the till in store, which contains the information needed to complete the transaction. Alternatively, shoppers will also be able to scan the code into their mobile from the screen on a chip-and-pin device.

The shopper will then need to log into their mobile banking app, after which the transaction can be completed with a tap.