BARCLAYS Pingit will be closing down at the end of June.
Users of the mobile payment service will no longer be able to send or receive money via the app this summer.
1
Barclays stopped selling Pingit wearable devices at the beginning of April.
A Pingit spokesperson said: “Following a recent review of our products and services, Pingit will be closing on June 30 2021.”
They also said they would be contacting any customers affected if action needs taking.
But you won’t lose money that might already be sitting in the app, as your balance will be refunded back before the service shuts down for good.
What is Pingit?
Pingit is a payment service and app by the bank Barclays, introduced to be used on most smartphones, including iPhones and Androids.
It means you can make mobile payments by connecting your mobile phone number to a UK bank account.
As well as paying your credit card bill, the service lets you send payments to anyone, including friends, family, businesses, or tradespeople.
You can pay those people instantly if they’re registered with the app as well, but you can also pay people who aren’t signed up too.
In that case, you can just create the payment and the person you want to pay gets a text message with details of how they can collect their money.
Pingit was set up so you wouldn’t have to remember lengthy account numbers or sort codes, and you can just send the payment from one mobile to another.
Why is Barclays closing Pingit?
Barclays told us they had made the decision after reviewing all the products and services it provides, and Pingit didn’t make the cut.
But Pingit for Clubs is a separate service to Pingit so if you are signed up to that feature then you will be able to continue using Pingit for Clubs as normal even after Pingit closes.
What other payment apps are there?
Paypal is one of the top payment apps available.
The free app lets you link your account with your credit or debit card, and you can send money anywhere as long as you have the recipient’s email address or phone number.
The app also has a buy now and pay later service called Paypal Credit that lets you spread the cost of transactions.
Then if you’re an android user, Google Pay has been dubbed the best payment app.
It means you can use your phone to make payments and there is no maximum transaction limit.
Your payment info is also protected with multiple layers of security, you just have to download the app from the Google Play store to use – and it’s free to download too.
Apple Pay is a great app for IOS users and works in pretty much the same way as Google Pay.
You can add your debit or credit card to a “wallet” in your phone and use things like touch ID or face recognition to pay for things online or in-store.
And more than 60 million people use Venmo to send and receive money with friends and family.
This app lets you add notes to your transactions too that help you establish where the money is coming from, and personalise things like transactions that might be sent as gifts.
Payments are normally free with any of these apps, and they might have an extended limit on how much you can buy or send at any one time.
DRINK UP
Last chance to get Costa 50p drinks offer as deal ends TODAY
SUN SAVERS
Have your cake jar and eat it with our top tips on the new sweet trend
AUCTION STATIONS
House in Wales on sale for just £12,000 – but wait until you see inside
GAS-LIGHTED
Hundreds of British Gas engineers left furious after losing their jobs
RETAIL WOES
Asda to axe 1,200 jobs at its bakeries under major restructuring plans
SWEET DREAMS
Tesco is selling an air bed for only £7.50 down from £45
With lot’s of account access moved to online or mobile methods, Barclays customers have been warned about scams that try to copy the service and steal info.
The bank has gone through lots of other changes recently including one to minimum spending, but Martin Lewis has explained why that’s good.
You can check if the Barclays services that are still running like the website or banking app have crashed with tools available online too – you might be entitled to compensation.
Mortgage advisor explains why you should never include joke references when transferring money to your mates
