British retailer Marks & Spencer will run a mobile payment trial beginning next month, according to The Independent. The test of a new mobile payment app, called Paddle, will kick off in M&S coffee shops and feature codes on menus that can be scanned by patrons to order and pay for items at the table.

The article is light on specifics about the app, but it's notable that it seems to be a proprietary approach to mobile payments. It comes from M&S's Digital Lab division, a group started earlier this year to apply high tech solutions to the customer experience.  (see update below)

If successful, Marks & Spencer could roll out the solution across Britain, The Independent said.

Marks & Spencer operates more than 700 stores in the U.K. and more than 400 stores in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. 

UPDATE: It turns out the app is not being developed in-house as characterized in the Independent. The company behind the Paddle app has reached out to Mobile Payments Today and a write up on their efforts with M&S — and potentially other — retailers will be posted shortly.

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