Barclays extends Pingit service to all except Windows Phone users

Barclays is extending the availability its innovative Pingit mobile money transfer app by making the service available to customers of rival banks.

The service, which launched in February, allows users with iPhone, BlackBerrys or Android-based handsets to send and receive money using their smartphone.

Barclays claimed that the Pingit app has already been downloaded by more than 400,000 users.

“The ability to make simple payments to whoever they want, wherever they are, instantly and securely, is making many people’s lives much easier, said Antony Jenkins, chief executive, Retail and Business Banking, Barclays.

Barclays said it planned to offer further enhancements to the app in coming months, including the ability to use it for joint accounts and to provide other business-friendly functions.

But one group of users that look set to miss out – at least for the foreseeable future – are Windows Phone users.

Barclays has decided that there simply are not enough of them to make the development effort worth its time at this stage, it told V3.

But a spokesperson added that it may work on this in future if demand grows.

The Pingit service works by linking a phone number to a current account, with users required to enter a five-digit pin before making a transfer.

The minimum transfer that can be made is £1, up to a maximum of £300, and there is a £300 total daily send limit and a £5,000 total daily receive limit.