Barclays Pingit mobile payment app launched

 

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Posted on 16 Feb 2012 at 11:07

Banking giant Barclays has declared war on mobile payment expert PayPal with the launch of Pingit, a smartphone app that allows customers to quickly transfer money via their smartphone.

The Pingit app, available for iPhone, BlackBerry and Android smartphones, allows accounts to be associated with mobile numbers and amounts between £1 and £300 to be transferred in as little as 30 seconds using the Faster Payments service. Barclays claims that the system will find uses including splitting bills at restaurants and takeaways.

Recipients can hold an account at any UK bank as long as they also have a UK mobile number, while senders need a current account at Barclays in order to make use of the software.

If the app sounds familiar, it's likely because the eBay-owned PayPal payment service offers something similar. When installed, the PayPal smartphone app allows users to send or receive money using email addresses or mobile phone numbers.

As with PayPal, those wishing to receive money via Pingit must sign up for an account, but they won't need a Barclays account in order to do so. The bank has also promised to open the service up to all UK bank accounts for both sending and receiving money by early March.

"Barclays Pingit could revolutionise the way people send and receive money", claimed Barclays chief executive Antony Jenkins at the launch. "For friends splitting the cost of dinner, repaying a borrowed £10 or people sending money to a son or daughter at university, it's free, quick, convenient, secure, and easy to use. You can send and receive money in seconds, without having to enter account details.

"We're committed to making customers' lives much easier, giving them more choice in how they manage their money, and Barclays Pingit absolutely does that. But it is not just Barclays customers who benefit as it's available to current account customers of all the other UK banks too. I’m sure we’ll soon be wondering what we did before it."

The app is available now in each platforms' respective app stores.

Author: Gareth Halfacree