The UK Payments Council has launched a new service called Paym – pronounced Pay ‘em – which allows users to make payments using only the recipient’s mobile phone number.
Both senders and recipients will have to register to use the service, asking their bank to link their mobile number to their account.
Paym will be incorporated in existing banking apps, allowing users to transfer money without the need to know the recipient’s account number or sort code.
Adrian Kamellard, chief executive of the Payments Council, told The Guardian: “Paym is a mobile update for payments that means you can pay securely using just a mobile number.
“Paym will make it easier to repay a friend for cinema tickets, split a restaurant bill or settle up for a colleague’s birthday collection.”
Major UK banks like the Bank of Scotland, Barclays, Halifax, HSBC, Lloyds, Santander and TSB are participating in Paym.
The customers of these banks can now register for the service and link their mobile number with their bank account as Paym payments will go live on April 29.
It is being planned that other banks – such as NatWest, RBS, First Direct, the Royal Bank of Scotland and Yorkshire Bank – will join the scheme later this year.
According to the Payments Council, the banks participating in Paym were requested to follow stringent security standards in order to protect their customers.
For more information visit the Paym site.