Barclays launches Pingit mobile-to-mobile payments

The bank's new app will allow customers of any UK bank or building society to send money by mobile.

Barclays has launched the first mobile-to-mobile payments service. The Pingit app allows people to send and receive money just by using mobile phone numbers.

Pingit will eventually be available to adult customers of any UK bank or building society. At the moment only Barclays current account holders can use it to send money, although anyone with a UK bank or building society account can receive cash. It’s expected to be available to all by early March.

The app, which is available on the Apple iOS, Android and Blackberry operating systems, links a person’s current account to their mobile phone number.

Barclays says transfers are completely safe and the app is protected by a five-digit passcode. The money is sent via the Faster Payments system so should transfer across immediately.

The minimum payment that can be sent is £1, with the maximum £300, although these can be made over several payments. The maximum amount a user can receive in one day is £5,000.

If a user is not registered to receive payments, any pending payments will be held for 24 hours before being cancelled if the recipient doesn’t register within that time.

Barclays customers can also see their live account balance on the app. To find out more, go to www.barclays.co.uk/pingit or phone 0333 2001012.

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