Barclays Pingit – transfer money with a mobile [App of the week]
What is Barclays Pingit?
Smartphones have enabled us to do almost anything on the move, and managing your finances on your mobile has been at the forefront of some of the most innovation technological developments over the past couple of years. But the launch of Barclays Pingit back in March this year is a first in the UK – an app that lets you send people or businesses money, needing only a mobile number.
You register your bank account details through and link it to your mobile number. Then, if you know that the recipient of the money you want to send has also registered with Pingit, you simply enter the amount you want to send (up to £300), punch in their number and send the cash. The money you send should arrive instantly.
Pingit was launched originally solely for Barclays customers, but as of April 2012, anyone with a UK bank account can use the app. If you don’t bank with Barclays, you’ll need to pre-load some money into the Pingit Wallet to get started.
You’ll need an Android phone, BlackBerry or iPhone with internet access to run the app. It’s free to download.
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5 reasons to try Barclays Pingit
- You can pay anyone at anytime without needing their account details
All that’s required to send or receive money is a mobile phone number, which removes the cumbersome process of getting account details and logging into your online banking system to transfer cash. - Never go short again
We’ve all been out and left our cash card at home, or haggled over splitting a bill. With Pingit you can transfer cash in an instant – the money will go straight into someone’s account. So if somebody lends you some cash for a night out, you can ping the money to them right away. - It’s great for small businesses
As well as being able to make payments of up to £300 a day, you can receive up to £5,000 a day. Barclays has recently increased functionality to let you add payment details of businesses and scan QR codes to send money to companies. - Get your balance on the move
You can find out your balance at any time using the app – there’s a small dropdown in the Wallet window that tells you how much you have in your account. - It’s secure
You have a unique 5 digit passcode to log-in and the app logs-out each time you navigate away, reducing the risk of your banking details being exposed.
Gareth’s impressions of Barclays Pingit
Banking with Barclays anyway, I was an early adopter of Pingit. I think it’s a fantastic app, giving you the immediacy that you need on a smartphone and removing all of the layered processes of online banking without scrimping on security.
As you would expect from the development team of a multi-billion pound bank, the interface is slick. The log-in process is straightforward, and on entry to the app, you’re given three options – make a payment, have a look at your wallet (i.e. check your account balance) and locate your nearest Barclays branch. Obviously, the latter will be of less interest to non-Barclays customers.
Barclays has published its second update to the app, increasing the functionality for businesses. You can scan a QR code to make a payment, pay a business from a pre-registered list (only the AA and Help for Heroes are listed so far) or enter in a short code. I don’t see this taking off for household bills – most people will set up direct debits for these kinds of payments – but it will come in handy for the likes of tradesman or a pizza delivery companies.
For me, the best thing is being able to see my balance on the go, and the most recent update shows the most recent transactions in my Barclays account, not just using Pingit. Again, this is only for Barclays customers, but it saves me a heap of time when all I want is to find out how much cash I’ve got to ping in the first place.
- Will Barclays Pingit take off? – join the debate on Which? Conversation
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Sam
This is a good app and does a leap forward on easy money transfer. Can Barclays make it work for International payments? That would be cooool..
Karen
And make the international payment part free too…I don’t like the BIG exchange rates which can never be understood by most of us..
Popsinger
Nice banking app, good innovative work. Have been using it for a month. Why cant i send more than Just 300 quids..? Maker it atleast 1000.. and also add my monthly statements..
P.S. I like the “forceful” Kid in the Ad, make a sequel.. I wanna see where he goes next..
Mark
Sounds like Barclays have done a good job.
Reason number 2, above, says the transfer is instant. Does this mean instant at both ends of the transaction? (i.e. I am wondering if it is also instant for the recipient.) Or is there a wait of minutes, hours, or perhaps days before the money is cleared into the recipient’s account and available for use.
I agree an international transfer facility would be excellent. I would sign up for the service if I could make an international money transfer (provided exchange rate, charges etc. were reasonable). I have searched in vain for a cost-effective way to make relatively small transfers (of about £100). The likes of Western Union charge about £20 minimum in fees.
Ken
It’s straight away for sender & reciever
Carl Hubbers
As of November 2012 it only has a register journey and not a login journey so if you remove the app or get a new phone or do a factory reset then you have to register again, which doesn’t work because you are already registered … so you have to make and actual telephone call to their helpdesk. Not very 2012.