MSE News: Barclays app allows mobile-to-mobile cash transfers

NFH

cpjackso wrote: »

I received the 1p deposit in my current account to verify my receiving account - but it had no reference code - so I cant fully verify my account?!

How is this supposed to work? I've only tried it from one Barclays registered account to another, but from what you've said, the process must be different if paying to a non-registered account or a non-Barclays account.

callum9999

2sides2everystory wrote: »

I strongly disagree. Both Egg Money and Citibank (before Egg got bought and sold by Citibank, and surprise surprise bought by Barclays) tried this before albeit with no specific purpose in mind other than "enabling customers to see all their accounts in one place". In this crazy world I would no more trust another bank than I would a rabid dog.


Interesting though that BBC World News are reporting it alongside discussion of a scheme run in Kenya called M-Pesa which according to an outdated Wikipedia article was a pilot project initially sponsored by the UK government Department for International Development (DFID) in 2003–2006 and launched in 2007.

Standby to be dumbed down to third world money ways ...

Surely you must recognise that very few people are as paranoid as you?

And how on earth is this "dumbed down"? That merely shows your prejudice towards other countries - just because it happened there first, does't automatically mean it's a lesser service. It was introduced there first because they have a far greater need for it. For the UK, it is a convenience thing, for Kenya it is an important business tool. Hence why it's been prioritised there and taken longer to appear here.

NFH

2sides2everystory wrote: »

I strongly disagree. Both Egg Money and Citibank (before Egg got bought and sold by Citibank, and surprise surprise bought by Barclays) tried this before albeit with no specific purpose in mind other than "enabling customers to see all their accounts in one place". In this crazy world I would no more trust another bank than I would a rabid dog.

Not a good comparison. Giving someone your online banking login (which can be used to pay money out) is very different from, and much more dangerous than, giving someone your sort code and account number (which are used mainly for receiving money).

NFH

callum9999 wrote: »

It was introduced there first because they have a far greater need for it. For the UK, it is a convenience thing, for Kenya it is an important business tool. Hence why it's been prioritised there and taken longer to appear here.

All true. Another point is that in Kenya, the mobile networks took the initiative to implement it, whereas Barclays have decided to get in there first in the UK before the mobile networks (and other banks) wise up to this opportunity.

danothy

NFH wrote: »

True, but they'll mind a lot less about giving this data to a bank, even if it's not their own bank.

NFH wrote: »

Not a good comparison. Giving someone your online banking login (which can be used to pay money out) is very different from, and much more dangerous than, giving someone your sort code and account number (which are used mainly for receiving money).

Weren't you talking about people who had "a specific phobia about divulging their sort code and account number" though? Why would these people be more inclined to give those details to this scheme than to you in person? They still have to divulge at some point in the process, what does having it referenced by a phone number solve?

nzseries1

Woohoo, this brings mugging into the 21st century!

No longer do muggers have to drag you to a cashpoint and hold a gun to your head... now they can insist you transfer the money to them right there on the spot! Awesome!

NFH

danothy wrote: »

Weren't you talking about people who had "a specific phobia about divulging their sort code and account number" though? Why would these people be more inclined to give those details to this scheme than to you in person? They still have to divulge at some point in the process, what does having it referenced by a phone number solve?

These people don't mind giving their sort code and account number in certain contexts, particularly to a bank. For example, they'll happily write cheques bearing their sort code and account number. To be honest, I'm not sure how their minds work, as their reluctance to give out their sort code and account number is misguided. They're the same people who think there's a financial risk to them if they give their credit card number on a web site; the financial risk is borne by their card issuer.

danothy

NFH wrote: »

These people don't mind giving their sort code and account number in certain contexts, particularly to a bank. For example, they'll happily write cheques bearing their sort code and account number. To be honest, I'm not sure how their minds work, as their reluctance to give out their sort code and account number is misguided. They're the same people who think there's a financial risk to them if they give their credit card number on a web site; the financial risk is borne by their card issuer.

People write cheques to pay for things. This is quite different from giving out your bank details in order to receive a payment, especially since you would not need to divulge your details if you received a cheque.

I think you're being too optimistic ... If someone fears giving out their details then I don't think changing who they are supposed to give them to will not make that much of a difference, even if it is a bank. Besides, why would anyone want to give their phone number to Barclays if they don't bank with them?

NFH

danothy wrote: »

Besides, why would anyone want to give their phone number to Barclays if they don't bank with them?

That does seem to be the only risk, at least from a privacy point of view, as has been pointed out in a thread on the Mobile Phones Board. Barclays allows its customers to reverse look up a user's name using their mobile number.

danothy

NFH wrote: »

That does seem to be the only risk, at least from a privacy point of view, as has been pointed out in a thread on the Mobile Phones Board. Barclays allows its customers to reverse look up a user's name using their mobile number.

But the risk, real or imagined, is not the point. The point is that those people who you don't understand for not wanting to give their bank details out to will be the very people not using this system because you have to give your bank details to it to receive payment.