Barclaycard has begun testing what it calls a brand new payment concept that streamlines the way consumers buy low-value goods by enabling them to scan and pay for their shopping using their smartphone without the need to visit a physical checkout.

The concept, called Grab+Go, turns a smartphone into a 'pocket checkout', enabling users to simply scan the items they want to buy as they pick them and then complete their purchase with a single click and walk out of a store.

Barclaycard has developed the concept in a bid to make purchasing and paying quicker and easier for both consumers and merchants, according to a press release.

Users download the Grab+Go app, create an account and preload their payment details, and then use their smartphone camera to scan the barcode on items as they go. When finished, they click 'I'm done' and walk out; payment is taken easily and invisibly in the background and the receipt is stored in the app.

Barclays and Barclaycard colleagues are testing the concept at the staff restaurant in London with Northampton, Teesside and Wilmington in the U.S. to follow shortly ahead of a planned public rollout.