Mobility

Barclays Pingit: Money goes mobile

By // February 16, 2012, 12:50 AM PST // nickjheath

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    The cashless society moved one step closer today with the launch of an app to that allows smartphone users to send money from their handset.
     
    The Pingit app, released by Barclays bank is an app for iPhone, Android and BlackBerry handsets, that allows users to link their mobile phone number to their bank account and make payments to anyone who owns a mobile phone in the UK.
     
    Initially only Barclays customers will be able to make payments with the app but all UK banking customers will be able to make payments from early March.
     
    Photo: Barclays

  • While other mobile money transfer apps already exist - such as the PayPal app - Pingit users are only required to have a UK bank account and UK registered mobile phone. But the system still requires the person making the payment to own a smartphone, in contrast to a more accessible electronic payment scheme, like the M-Pesa system used in Kenya where any mobile phone can make a payment.

     

    The use of phones as ”digital wallets” is already common practice in Japan, where widespread deployment of electronic readers allow people to pay for goods or transport using NFC-enabled phones or cards.
     
    The practice of paying using a mobile is forecast to take off globally over the next two years, with analyst house Juniper Research predicting that global transactions will rise to $50bn by 2014, double the worth of transactions in 2011.
     
    Photo: Barclays
     

  • Barclays is suggesting a range of uses for Pingit such as splitting a bill in a restaurant or making payments to small traders who can’t handle card transactions.

     
    Payments of up to £300 a day can be made using Pingit, with the money moved between the two accounts using the Faster Payments service in as little as 30 seconds.
     
    Photo: Barclays

  • After downloading the app Pingit customers must register to link their phone to their bank account. Once registered, making a payment using Pingit requires the user to enter the phone number of the person they want to make the payment to, enter the amount they want to pay and any message and hit send.

    Anyone with a  UK-registered mobile phone and a UK bank account can receive a Pingit payment. Non-Pingit users can register to receive a payment via Pingit through the Barclays website, and will receive a text message confirming the payment.

     
    Photo: Barclays

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    The app is protected by a five digit pass code in order to prevent someone using Pingit to make payments if a smartphone is lost.
     
    Photo: Barclays
     

 

The cashless society moved one step closer today with the launch of an app to that allows smartphone users to send money from their handset.
 
The Pingit app, released by Barclays bank is an app for iPhone, Android and BlackBerry handsets, that allows users to link their mobile phone number to their bank account and make payments to anyone who owns a mobile phone in the UK.
 
Initially only Barclays customers will be able to make payments with the app but all UK banking customers will be able to make payments from early March.
 
Photo: Barclays

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By Nick Heath

Nick Heath is chief reporter for TechRepublic. He writes about the technology that IT decision makers need to know about, and the latest happenings in the European tech scene.