

Free micro-payments via phone. Big UK bank, Barclays, releases Pingit today - dazbradbury
http://www.barclays.co.uk/Mobile/BarclaysPingit/P1242603570446

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TomGullen
Nice but can't see if it's free to receive money as a small business?

Great to see more competition in the on-line payment market anyway, Paypal has
had a monopoly for far too long. Stripe and new services like this will make a
fairer more competitive market.

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dazbradbury
Here is the Pingit for Business link:

[http://www.barclays.co.uk/Mobile/BarclaysPingitforBusiness/P...](http://www.barclays.co.uk/Mobile/BarclaysPingitforBusiness/P1242604808804)

But I agree, it doesn't make it clear what the charges are. It also claims
there will be a limit of £5k for receiving funds. In the T&C's it states:

4\. Charges

    
    
      We do not charge you for sending payments through Barclays 
      Pingit (network charges may apply for using the app).  If 
      you are a business customer, you may incur standard 
      charges for making payments as set out in your tariff.

~~~
JackdawX
Not exactly: "There is a maximum _daily_ limit of £5,000 for all payments
received through the service."

Sounds ideal for small businesses.

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IsaacL2
Is there a developer API? I'd love to have a system where customers can, eg,
scan a QR code, get given the details of what they're paying for, and then hit
"confirm". Would remove quite a bit of friction from people fiddling around
with entering your phone number.

~~~
jerguismi
That's the way bitcoin mobile wallets are working:
[https://market.android.com/details?id=com.miracleas.bitcoin_...](https://market.android.com/details?id=com.miracleas.bitcoin_spinner)

Paying is very easy, just scan the QR code and push send. I guess we will have
to wait couple of years before this kind of model becomes available for
traditional money...

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tonylemesmer
On my rooted Android it detected that I had root and prevented me from using
the app. Lloyds Bank mobile banking doesn't have any similar scruples.

~~~
dazbradbury
That is annoying. And from the market comments it seems jailbroken iphones are
the same.

However, my assumption is that it's a security measure. They are presumably
trying to stop malicious applications sending payments without user
notification, and I guess that makes sense.

As a bank, they may be being overly precautious, but is there a fallback of a
web app?

~~~
archivator
It's a security measure against the wrong crowd. If someone is going to use
root for malicious purposes, they'll just take apart the app and remove the
check for root. Blocking casual root users is doing nothing for your security.

~~~
dazbradbury
I think the measure is in place FOR casual root users. No doubt there will be
ways to remove the check for root, but then you've installed a non-standard
application, and Barclays are presumably no longer liable for losses.

If you were a casual root user, installed this app, and there was some back-
door only accessible via rooted phones, it would be the bank's problem.

Whether this is a reasonable security measure or not, I imagine it was their
line of thinking.

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edlea
It's interesting to read some of the Android reviews for the app; an
interesting insight into how users value convenience over security.

Or simply how little they appreciate security

[https://market.android.com/details?id=com.barclays.apps.ping...](https://market.android.com/details?id=com.barclays.apps.pingit&reviewId=07948364984820677821)

~~~
lucian1900
Are you assuming having root access to hardware you own to be a security flaw?

~~~
edlea
I'm assuming that most users don't know what root access is or the
implications of having it

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neiljohnson
Doesn't seem to be via text.

