Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com – @BednarChuck
Need to send money to someone, but don’t have their address, banking information or email address? A new app lets you transfer funds using only the recipient’s Twitter handle.
The app, which is available through Barclays bank, it called Pingit and it currently allows UK customers to pay a friend or small business simply by entering the recipient’s telephone number. As of March 10, however, it will add the option to pay Twitter users, according to CNET.
To pay through social media, you simply have to log into the Pingit app and enter the Twitter handle of the person you want the money to go to, the website explained. The payment will be sent instantly, and there will be no transaction fees for payments send between individuals.
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Both the sender and the recipient need to have their Twitter handles registered with the free app, and once the money is sent, you can even send out a tweet to let the other party know payment is on the way. Usage of the app is not limited to Barclays customers either – anyone can use it, just as long as they have both a UK bank account and mobile phone number.
The app, which was launched in 2012, also works with a phone number, and small businesses can obtain a special QR code for customers to scan, CNET explained. It also comes with a built-in calculator to help divide up costs, logs payments both in the app and via text message.
For a person to receive the money, they need to have either installed the Pingit app on their mobile device, or be registered for the Paym mobile payment service, the website added. If they don’t, the money will remain in the sender’s account, and the recipient will receive telling them about the payment and instructing them to install Pingit within the next five days.
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“We are always on the lookout for new and exciting ways to make people’s lives easier and customer feedback plays a big part in how we chose to further develop our apps,” Darren Foulds, Director of Barclays Mobile Banking and Pingit, said in a statement.
“Adding the ability to pay people or a small business using just a Twitter handle brings together a social and digital experience to create a new step forward for mobile payments in the UK,” he added.
Pingit is available for iPhones running iOS 6 and above, BlackBerry devices running OS 4.4 and above, mobile devices running Android 2.2 and above, and Windows 8 smartphones, the bank’s website said. It is free to download and only requires a UK mobile phone number.
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Users must be over the age of 16, and those without smartphones or tablets can register to receive payments without the app as long as they have a mobile device that can receive texts, Barclays added. Pingit can also be used to send international payments to regions of the world such as Botswana, Ghana, India, Kenya, Mauritius or Zambia.
Transactions made using the device are protected by Barclays Mobile Banking Guarantee, and any money that is taken from your account if you’re a victim of fraud will be refunded, the bank said. However, they warn that Pingit may not work correctly on a jailbroken smartphone or any device with modified system files, and it is not available on phone with rooted access.
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