And here we go, Barclays to go head to head with NationHela after launching a mobile money transfer app that targets diaspora remittances from UK to Kenya. Barclays Bank of Kenya mobile money transfer service is called PINGIT specifically meant for UK residents.
Here are the stats from CBK which are causing the rush for the Diaspora remittances :
In the year to June 2012, total remittances inflow stood at US$ 596.2 million, 46.7 percentage higher than the total remittances of US$ 406.5 million in the year to June 2011. The average remittances inflow in the year to June 2012 amounted to US$ 90.1 million up from US$ 62.4 million recorded in the year to June 2011.
Barclays PINGIT links the user’s current account with their mobile phone number, enabling payments to be sent directly to that account via the Faster Payments Scheme. Here Some key points about Pingit:
- The application is protected by a five-digit passcode, set by the user.
- Senders and recipients will be notified about sent, received, pending and cancelled payments via an SMS from Barclays
- The Barclays PINGIT application works with Android 2.2 and above, iOS 4.2 and above, Blackberry OS 5.0 and above. Users must download and register via the application to be able to send payments.
- Alternative registration via the website at www.barclays.co.uk/PINGIT allows customers to register to receive payments
One does not necessarily need to be Barclays customer to send the money through Pingit. If you live in UK, all that is required from a user is to download the Barclays PINGIT app on their smartphone and start making instant money transfers to anyone in Kenya or the UK. A sender keys in the recipient’s mobile number and the amount to be sent via the PINGIT application and hit send. It then takes less than 20 minutes to reach the recipient.
UK customers can send up to £750 per day. Payments will be made instantly arriving within minutes.
And Kenya it seems is just the beginning. Barclays Plc is planning to further rollout the service across 12 African Countries by the end of the year alongside further expansion into Europe in early 2013. Barclays plans to make the service available for their customers in Botswana, South Africa, Zambia, Tanzania, Ghana, Nigeria, Egypt, Zimbabwe, Uganda, UAE, Seychelles and Mauritius by the end of 2012.
Unfortunately my attempt to download it on Android in Kenya has not worked so far. I am not sure whether you can only download it when you are in UK. The following screen shot shows the result my direct search on the Android market
Then I went through the alternative route www.barclays.co.uk/PINGIT , where I got the link for downloading the Android version on the Barclays site but still no success. Here is another screen shot through the alternative route
Is this going to be a hit or a miss? Give me your views on the comments section.
Can you send cash TO the UK using this service?
I tried to download it on my phone and it was not possible, at the moment i think you can’t