Pingit Adds Pair of Mobile Shopping Features (Sept. 16, 2013)
Users of Barclays Pingit U.K. mobile money transfer app have two new ways to make online purchases, with a pair of features being launched this week. Pingit’s mobile checkout function enables merchants to add a “Pay with Barclays Pingit” button to a mobile Web or app checkout page, eliminating the need for entering a large amount of personal and payment data, which Barclays notes can be especially challenging on a mobile device. Abandonment rates of online purchases initiated over mobile or tablet can reach as high as two-thirds, according to Harris Interactive.
“For mobile enabled businesses, this is a great way to increase sales conversion by reducing payment input errors and increased consumer assurance at checkout,” said Mike Walters, head of U.K. corporate payments, Barclays. “For new players to the market, it is an easy, low risk way to enter into mobile commerce.”
The second new Pingit feature, dubbed “buy it,” enables users to make purchases by scanning QR codes displayed on an advertisement or other marketing material. Once the code is scanned, Pingit displays product information including price and delivery date. The user then confirms these details to complete the purchase. “Buy it” helps merchants transform their advertisements and other promotional materials into direct sales channels and assists in evaluating the effectiveness of an advertising campaign by tracking ads that are driving sales, according to Barclays.
