In the US, we have had banking features that have caught up with the times, allowing to send money to someone and all you need is an email address or phone number. As long as that email address or phone number is attached to a person’s account, they will receive the money. The UK is well on it’s way to doing just that, starting with using someones phone number to send money they call it the Paym system. Paym’s is due to launch on April 29th, but they have opened pre registration for the service early.
In preparation for Paym to launch, the UK had done some studies, these studies were to figure out if this system was worth being put in place. To give purpose to the program, there would need to be a high amount of people borrowing and lending small amounts of cash on a frequent basis. What they found was that people ages 18 to 25 years old were more willing to lend or borrow money from one another.
The exact numbers of the study showed that people between the ages of 18-25 in the UK, borrowed or loaned money more often for things like meals, movie tickets or transportation. With numbers like two out of five people or 41% of people in said age group were making “IOU’s” totaling “more than £2 billion per year” which is a lot of money transfers.
In the UK, there is an organization called the Payments Council, has listed the banks that are currently ready to allow pre-registration for the system. Those banks being, Halifax, HSBC, Barclays, Cumberland Building Society, Lloyds Bank, Bank of Scotland, Santander and TSB, these are the banks that allow for pre-registration for Paym. One bank is a bit behind but will catch up on April 25th, Danske Bank. You may have noticed that there are quite a few banks that have not been named, those banks will not be joining the system until later this year. This includes, First Direct, The Royal Bank of Scotland, NatWest, Clydesdale Bank, Isle of Man Bank and Yorkshire. This will mean that 9 out of 10 UK customer’s bank accounts will be ready for the service.
In order to register, you have to go through your banks website, and once you have, then your phone number will be attached to your current account. This will be a way easier way to send and receive money from friends or family. All you need is their phone number and your respective banking app, and you are all set. Even though you pre-register, you will not be able to send or receive cash until April 29th.