BlackBerry is partnering with Barclays Bank to enable P2P money transfers via the UK bank's Pingit application over the BBM messaging service.
Once a user has added their BBM ID as a linked ID within Pingit, they can initiate a money transfer directly from within a BBM conversation in much the same way as they might send a photo or sticker to a BBM contact.
To receive a transfer, the receiver will see a money transfer notification during their BBM conversation, will be prompted to enter their secure password to authorise the transaction and will receive a BBM notification from the sender to confirm when the payment has been processed in the receiver’s Pingit account.
Pingit currently has over 2.9 million registered users, and more than 68,000 businesses have signed up to use the service. Individuals don’t have to be a Barclays customer to use Pingit, and more than £2 billion has been transferred via the app to date.
“BBM has become a secure platform for consumers and brands to exchange messages, photos, files and stickers with each other,” says Matthew Talbot, SVP, BBM at BlackBerry. “Exchange money was a logical extension, whether it’s paying back someone during a BBM chat or buying something from a BBM Ad - and another great example of how BBM successfully brings chat, social and commerce together.”
The BBM-enabled Pingit app is now available as a free download for Android and iOS devices from the App Store and Google Play.