There have so far been 1.2 million downloads of Barclays Pingit and an impressive £70 average transaction.

Speaking at the 2012 FStech/Retail Systems Payments Technology Conference, which took place yesterday in London, Derek White, chief customer experience officer, Barclays, gave delegates an insight into the Pingit project, the first app that allows people in the UK to send and receive money using their mobile number. Available for iPhone, Android and BlackBerry devices, it is also now being expanded across Africa and Europe.

“When we launched Pingit our dream was that it would grow into something like iTunes, for instance, monthly releases, monitoring Twitter and customer feedback,” he said, adding that: “We see Pingit as fundamentally disrupting our business. There are many disruptive players and influences out there. The only way to survive is to create layered products as we have done and as the industry did 40 years ago with cards.”

White said he was pleasantly surprised at the £70 average transaction, given that the service was only launched this year. Friday is the busiest day for transactions, he added. “Watch this space as to how we humanise payments, for instance, gifting options,” he commented. “We’re pleased with the average transaction rate. Will it continue to grow as we humanise the service? We certainly hope so.”

Further information on the 2012 FStech/Retail Systems Payments Technology Conference at: http://www.fstech.co.uk/payments

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