I don’t think I have been this excited about an app since Angry Birds... #justkidding (except not really.)  Barclays’ new ‘Pingit’ app is creating a storm already; and it was only just released.  The basics of the app, are that you can transfer money instantly to your friends and family; for example - if you’re all out at a restaurant and it comes to paying the bill, one person can pay upfront and the others can use ‘Pingit’ to transfer the money straight to their account.  You can transfer up to £300 a day, and even though at the moment it’s only for Barclays account holders, within a few weeks it will be rolled out to all accounts.  Oh, and did I forget to mention...the app is free.

Of course I have shared this information around our offices and the immediate question arose; ‘how on earth is my money secure?!’  Good question.  I wish I knew the answer...but if I did, then I’d be some super IT powerhouse, and not a Marketing Manager.  I can however say that I’m fairly certain that with information as delicate as bank details, Barclays *must* have run all the necessary tests to ensure complete security.  There is a ‘failsafe’ in place, explained by Sean Gilchrist (head of Digital Banking at Barclays) who “claims the new app features “industry standard encryption”, and can automatically be wiped from a phone if a user tells the bank they have lost their device.  Users must also use a new, five-digit PIN code to access the app, which Barclays claims was developed with the help of its own and mobile banking security experts” -- Telegraph

Well I for one am willing to trust Barclays and jump on the Pingit bandwagon.  If for no other reason than I get to use the word ‘Pingit’ as a verb.