Barclays to Link Twitter Accounts to Pingit App

Barclays is updating its Pingit person-to-person payment app to enable it to use Twitter usernames to identify recipients.

The new service, which will launch on both Android and Apple devices on March 10, will apply to all Pingit customers regardless of whether they bank with Barclays or another institution. Businesses signed up for the Pingit service will also be able to use the Twitter payment feature.

"Adding the ability to pay people or a small business using just a Twitter handle brings together a social and digital experience to create a new step forward for mobile payments in the U.K.," said Darren Foulds, director of Barclays Mobile Banking and Pingit, in a Feb. 25 press release.

To enroll with the service, Pingit users must add their own Twitter handle to their profile in the app. When paying someone, users can enter that person’s Twitter handle or select the payee from the contact list.

Recipients will also receive a text message when a payment has been initiated. Pingit can be used by anyone with a U.K. bank account and U.K. mobile phone number.

The app has received 3.7 million downloads since launching in 2012 and handled more than £1 billion pounds (roughly $1.55 billion) in payments, Barclays said.