More than 40 million people in the UK will now have the ability to make payments to known contacts on their mobiles, thanks to a new mobile payment service called Paym that launched last week.
Select and Pay
The service works by allowing the user to transfer cash through their phone by using the recipient’s
phone number rather than having to gather bank details such as the sort code and account number. The user will then simply select the contact or key in the relevant phone number, confirm the recipient and the amount; press send, and it’s done!
Recent reports suggest that nine out of ten accounts will have the Paym facility available to them by the end of the year. All the big high street banks are on-board with the scheme with others joining early 2015.
Technology yet to be trusted
Mobile banking payment systems still suffer from an image that portrays the technology as less than secure. Research consultants Consumer Intelligence suggest that over half of the people they questioned about the service were wary of the potential pitfalls such as losing a phone or paying the wrong person.
As with any banking service there will always be a risk. Industry experts maintain that by checking account activity regularly is the best way to detect fraud early. A new voluntary code will also be set up to help consumers claw back monies sent accidentally to the wrong recipient, but no guarantees can be made.
Keeping it in the family
Many people are keen to get to grips with the new, convenient payment service with over 300,000 signing up in the first week alone. Banking groups anticipate that the majority of use will be centered on small payments to and from friends and families.
Cash transfer limits will be set around £250 per day and users will have to register their number via their own banking facility in order to use the service. With over 94% of adults now owning a mobile phone in the UK, the banking industry has taken a bold but now necessary move in order to stream-line everyday banking services.
For more Fortune Frenzy news, you can now follow us on Twitter and/ or Facebook.
