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Payments via mobile number to start this month Payments via mobile number to start this month
(about 3 hours later)
Bank customers will be able to make payments via mobile numbers from 29 April, the Payments Council has announced. Consumers will be able to use mobile phone numbers to make bank payments from 29 April, it has been announced.
Customers will also be able to register for the new Paym service - pronounced "Pay Em"- from Wednesday 2 April. The changes mean that account-holders will be able to pay friends, family or traders without having to ask for their bank details.
The system means that anyone wanting to make a payment no longer has to ask for a bank account number and sort code. Instead, they will only need to ask for their mobile number, according to the Payments Council.
Providing both parties are registered, the payment can be made via a mobile phone number. However both parties will have to register to use the service, known as Paym - pronounced "Pay Em".
Customers of the following banks can now register to link their mobile number with their bank account: Bank of Scotland, Barclays, Cumberland Building Society, Halifax, HSBC, Lloyds, Santander and TSB. Customers can register in advance, from Wednesday 2 April.
The Payments Council, which supervises banking transactions in the UK, has rejected fears about fraud.
Neil Aitken, from the Payments Council, told BBC Radio 5 live that the system was secure.Neil Aitken, from the Payments Council, told BBC Radio 5 live that the system was secure.
"The only thing that people would be able to do if they got your mobile number is pay you - it will be integrated in to your existing banking app so it's password protected," he said."The only thing that people would be able to do if they got your mobile number is pay you - it will be integrated in to your existing banking app so it's password protected," he said.
Other banks - including NatWest, RBS and First Direct - will join the scheme later in the year.
Those wishing to make payments via mobile phone numbers will still need to use their banking apps, which require customers to log on to their accounts.Those wishing to make payments via mobile phone numbers will still need to use their banking apps, which require customers to log on to their accounts.
Account-holders will need to visit their own bank's website for more details.Account-holders will need to visit their own bank's website for more details.
Similar systems have already been introduced by Barclays and RBS NatWest.Similar systems have already been introduced by Barclays and RBS NatWest.
How will it work?How will it work?
Bank or building society account holders will first need to register their mobile phone number and the relevant account they want to use. Customers of the following banks can now register to link their mobile number with their bank account: Bank of Scotland, Barclays, Cumberland Building Society, Halifax, HSBC, Lloyds, Santander and TSB.
People who wish only to receive money this way will be able to use the system, even if their phone is not a smartphone and they do not use mobile banking. Other banks - including NatWest, RBS and First Direct - will join the scheme later in the year.
People who wish just to receive money - as opposed to paying it - will still be able to use the system, even if their phone is not a smartphone, or they do not use mobile banking.
Current levels of security will apply and payments will not be possible without an app's pass code being entered.Current levels of security will apply and payments will not be possible without an app's pass code being entered.
Further information is available from a new website, run by the Payments Council.