Barclays adds features to Pingit

British bank Barclays has launched two features within its mobile banking app Pingit, which it launched in February last year. Using the service, retailers can offer their customers two new ways to pay via their mobile.

“Mobile checkout” is a payment feature for quick and easy purchases from a mobile web or app checkout page and “Buy it” enables consumers to purchase advertised goods and services immediately.

According to Barclays, Mobile checkout is optimised for a mobile experience, and users can make an instant settlement via a ‘Pay with Barclays Pingit’ button. It eradicates the need for the entry of long or large amounts of personal details, which can be challenging on small handsets.

The Buy it feature enables instant purchases from traditional advertisement. By logging onto Barclays Pingit, consumers can buy products direct from an advert by scanning a QR code. Barclays Pingit displays the product information – price, merchant information, delivery information and stock levels. Confirming these details enables a Barclays Pingit user to initiate an instant purchase, which can be delivered to a chosen address. Once confirmed, the customer receives a confirmatory SMS and email.

For businesses this process can transform their adverts into a highly accessible and convenient sales channel, said Barclays.

The bank argues that it also increases the value of retailer’s existing assets, for example, by enabling people to buy from window displays, or from unmanned display stands around the clock.

Mike Walters, head of UK corporate payments at Barclays said: “Mobile commerce has grown more than 250 per cent over the last two years and it is important that businesses provide consumers with a convenient and easy payment method through this channel.”

Barclays also pointed out research by Harris Interactive that shows that while 68 per cent of mobile and tablet owners have tried to make a purchase on a mobile or tablet, as many as two-thirds of those have abandoned the purchase due to issues with the payment platform. According to the bank, this is because many of the payment solutions in the market today have not been optimised for an m-commerce environment.