Mobile e-gifts for Barclays Bank
By Retail Technology | Thursday August 14 2014
The UK bank adds e-gift option to its Pingit mobile banking service
Barclays Bank has launched a range of e-gifts to its Pingit mobile banking service, which include entertainment, dining, gaming, fashion, health and beauty and leisure brands available to purchase as a gift or for self-use.
The launch on Android and iOS device applications is scheduled for later this month. The bank has partnered with prepaid and payments company Blackhawk Network to deliver the new functionality.
Mobile money
Originally launched in early 2012, Barclays Pingit was one of Europe’s first free services for sending and receiving money using only mobile phone numbers. It allows anyone over 16 years old to make speedy payments using just a mobile number.
The service is connected to the bank accounts of Barclays customers, who in turn are able to send and receive funds. For non-Barclays customers, a digital wallet is created so easy payments, top-ups and withdrawals can be made.
In the cloud
To manage its new e-gift service, Pingit makes use of cloud-based environments and dynamic wallet capabilities to deliver a fresh and innovative e-gifting solution.
“Gifting through m-commerce is a leap forward for the payments market. For businesses, e-gifting is a cost-effective way to acquire new customers and maximise incremental spend,” explained Matthew Howe, managing director for Europe at Blackhawk Network.
“For consumers, the ability to purchase and send gift cards across digital channels provides far greater ease and convenience than having to make a trip to a particular merchant to purchase a physical gift card.”
