We discovered that the microchip inside a dog uses the same RFID technology as a contactless bank card which would work as the basis for a contactless payment system, just like a debit card. We married this thought to the knowledge that there is a humans-only activity that most dogs are excluded from: shopping. And so a very special dogs-only contactless payment system was born: DogPay.

We built a working prototype of DogPay at a special one-off day at a pet store. We used a Bluetooth-enabled low-frequency RFID scanner, a Raspberry Pi, a router and connected them to a payment account. This system was linked to a till and a printer. The dogs had a great time choosing their own shopping and then 'paying' themselves (allowing their chips to be scanned at the till). It was a lovely fun day that celebrated the sheer joy of dog ownership as well as the fun of being a dog. The whole event was filmed and then shared on-line.

While we can’t directly attribute these results to our activity, we’re very pleased to say that in Essex, where DogPay ran, dog micro-chipping has since increased by 10%*.

*Source: UK Government – Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA)