Barclays and CommBank team on cross-border mobile payments
Barclays is teaming up with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia to enable customers to send instant mobile payments around the world with just a phone number.
Barclays has connected its Pingit m-payments app to CBA’s equivalent, CommBank, for the service, letting their respective customers transfer funds without needing to enter banking details.
By teaming up with each other, Barclays and CBA hope that they can grab a bigger slice of the fast growing international money transfer sector, which has seen a host of new entrants, such as TransferWise and Azimo, undercutting banks.
Launched in 2012, Pingit now claims three million users and is available to non-Barclays customers. Although it can be used for sending money overseas – including to India and Kenya – the CBA arrangement marks the first time that the setup allows for two-way transfers.
The bank’s COO, Paul Compton, says: “Our partnership with CBA demonstrates how large institutions can and should work together to provide innovative solutions that benefit both customers, and the banking industry as a whole.”
The link-up has coincided with the opening of CBA’s new innovation lab in London, joining similar facilities in Sydney and Hong Kong . The Australian bank says the new lab is being established to help CBA tap into the very latest in fintech thinking.
Kelly Bayer Rosmarin, CommBank group executive for instituional banking and markets, says: “London, and the UK as a whole, has a reputation for nurturing global fintech innovation. We are excited about opening our Innovation Lab here and look forward to many partnerships and collaborations with this vibrant fintech community,”
